Getting - and keeping - volunteers

Last week, Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Chan Chun Sing said Singaporeans tend to volunteer less once they graduate from school. 'What we're seeing is a 'bathtub' effect... Their activism dips when they are occupied with their careers and families, and their participation comes back up only when their children are grown or when they retire,' he said. Are Singaporeans 'bathtub' volunteers? Feng Zengkun and Miranda Yeo report
The Straits Times, 11 Apr 2012

GREEN issues may be red-hot, but at Singapore's foremost green group, Nature Society, most members of its executive committee are past their youthful prime.

Its 55-year-old vice-president Leong Kwok Peng acknowledged that the society's volunteer corps has a 'middle-aged' profile. He and most of his colleagues on the committee are in their 40s and 50s.

After the student volunteers graduate, they have work and then families and children to take care of.

'It's hard to blame them for not doing as much social work as they'd like,' said Mr Leong.

Two national surveys between 2005 and 2010 suggest that this problem is not the Nature Society's alone.

They found that while as many as 70 per cent of teenagers help out in at least one social welfare group, the numbers fall steadily to about 40 per cent for those in their early 30s.

Most of the 13 organisations The Straits Times spoke to that are involved in the arts, sports, human rights, green issues and grassroots work also broadly agreed with Mr Chan's 'bathtub' assessment.

They added that it is especially difficult to find young working adults who are willing to consider taking up leadership posts within the groups.

'Volunteerism is a commitment which does not pay. It's understandable if young people prioritise working and saving money for their children,' said Mr Eugene Heng, 62, founder and chairman of the Waterways Watch Society, which monitors and promotes water bodies here.

The Singapore culture of spending long hours at the workplace also prevents more young people from volunteering, said administrative assistant Gary Yeo, 29. 'If I'm not working, I'd rather spend time with my friends, family or girlfriend. Or else, I would never know someone well enough to get married,' he said.

But activists said the nature of volunteer work also plays a role. About half of the 150 volunteers in women's rights group Association of Women for Action and Research (Aware), for example, are working adults between 20 and 40 years old who have been with the group for years.

Aware executive director Corinna Lim, 47, attributed this to the visceral impact of the group's work and its flexible volunteer hours. Most of the volunteers either conduct research for the group's projects, provide legal advice or counsel women seeking help.

Those in the research committees meet in person only once a month or even less frequently, and most of their work is conducted online. This makes it easier for volunteers juggling multiple roles to stay with the group, she said.

'When you counsel a crying woman and give her hope, it's quite visible,' she added.

Others such as the Singapore Sailing Federation and Waterways Watch Society said they face greater difficulty retaining their young members.

'Frankly speaking, sports clubs do not attract many young people because it is not a cause for the underprivileged that would motivate them to help out,' said a spokesman for the federation. Its executive committee is made up of people in their 40s and 50s.

Mr Heng said people may think his society's work would be handled more effectively by government agencies. His group retains only two out of every 10 student volunteers.

'Some people in Singapore still think that the environment is a job for the Government, not the people. Or they may think that they can serve the environment in their own lives and don't need to join a society to do so,' he said.

But most of the societies said their members usually return when their careers and family life are more stable. For example, Mr Heng said many of his group's volunteers and executive committee members are people in their 30s or older who join or return after becoming more established at work.

Nature Society's Mr Leong said young people may volunteer for certain issues, as seen in the recent Bukit Brown and Rail Corridor campaigns.

Other groups added that it may not be realistic to groom young professionals as leaders as they may be too inexperienced.

Said Mr Jeffrey Leow, 60, president of the Singapore Swimming Association: 'We look for expertise and experience in our organising committee.

'Those who have just started work are not our target group because they are focused on their careers.'

A spokesman for the People's Association Youth Movement said the problem of engaging and grooming young people to become leaders is a perennial one.

'Young people have short attention spans, diverse interests, changing aspirations and are driven by fast-changing trends,' she said.

But all the groups said more could be done to encourage volunteerism during the early working years.

Aware holds a monthly get-together to introduce new volunteers to the organisation, as well as for members to mingle.

It also organises discussions pegged to the news, such as its recent Budget roundtable, which help keep its volunteers engaged.

'The social bonds are very important in keeping people in the organisation,' said Ms Lim.

Ms Jean Chong, 37, co-founder of Sayoni, a platform for lesbian, bisexual and trans-sexual Asian women, added that a culture that appreciates volunteers is crucial.

'Don't treat them like cogs in a machine. Help them understand how their involvement contributes to making things better, and listen to what they say,' she said.

Ms Zheng Huifen, 29, a lawyer who does ad hoc work for Aware, said the Government could encourage working adults to volunteer by offering practical incentives such as tax breaks.

'Just look at the schools here. Parents always want to volunteer because it gives their children a better chance of getting into the school,' she said.

Mr Laurence Lien, 42, chief executive of the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre and a Nominated MP, said companies could encourage volunteerism as well.

He added: 'If ministers and senior civil servants publicly show or talk about their volunteering experiences, I am sure they will lead many by their example.'

Others added that social groups could retain their young volunteers by offering them more ad hoc opportunities as they graduate and start working.

'As long as they help out in some meaningful way, they are more likely to return regularly when they have more time,' said Mr Heng.

But Ms Lim said she was not worried about the state of volunteerism in Singapore. When she was 23 years old, she considered emigrating for personal reasons but her volunteer work at Aware inspired her to stay in Singapore, she said.

'I think young people, as long as their material needs have been met, will always feel the need to do something more with their lives,' she added.