Dr. David Hopson
Wikipedia reports that “Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, and is intended to promote good, or improve human quality of life, which in return produces a feeling of self-worth and respect, but no financial gain. Volunteering is also famous for skill development, socialization, and fun.” As I look at the many opportunities for people to volunteer in the greater Gateway community, and reflect on the very positive results of such volunteer actions, I wonder why we have so few volunteers. (I might add the difficulty our towns have in filling elected and appointed positions which, with the lack of or meager salaries paid for such positions, could also be called volunteer).
I’ll look at two specific volunteer roles in the district as examples. Both of these roles greatly benefit the children living in the district. Both groups require small amounts of time but also have leadership roles for those able to donate more time and effort. Both promote good and improve the quality of life for children in the hilltowns. Both provide opportunities to hone skills, provide opportunities for socialization, and can be very rewarding. Both have a long and very positive history in the area with an enviable list of accomplishments. Both support the towns and the schools, complement each other and often work together. Unfortunately, both also have a severe lack of volunteers to continue and expand upon the work done by past members.
Although there may be many groups that meet these criteria, I’m specifically referring to the Gateway Youth Athletic Association (GYAA) and Gateway’s Athletic Booster Club. Together, these two groups have given decades of service to area youth; offered a ladder of success for young athletes; and provided facilities, scholarships, and athletic opportunities for children as young as Kindergarten to our junior and senior high school athletes. As a parent of two athletes who participated in both GYAA activities and high school athletics, I can personally attest to the success of these two organizations in helping our children and students, can relay that volunteering with these groups is rewarding in many ways, and can strongly recommend that people consider donating their time to these groups.
As with so many volunteer-led organizations, there has been a core group of people over the years who made these two groups so successful. Over time, the challenge is finding a new group of people to start as basic volunteers and progress to become leaders. Without volunteers continually joining, it becomes more and more difficult to be successful at meeting the needs of athletically-oriented youth in our towns. With a shortage of volunteers, it becomes much more difficult to run the many activities that make these programs so successful, and increases the work load on the few people who consistently stay on.
I urge area residents to consider volunteering, not only in these two organizations, but also throughout our towns and schools. The needs are great, the opportunities endless, the benefits wonderful, and the chance to impact our towns is priceless. The GYAA and Booster Club traditionally have jointly run—and together benefitted from—the annual Memorial Day Soccer Tournament at the Gateway complex. This important activity depends exclusively on volunteers. A meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 2 in Stanton Hall (Huntington) to help organize and plan for this year’s tournament. Please consider attending and beginning your volunteer service to one of these wonderful organizations.
I extend my sincere appreciation to all who volunteer with GYAA, the Gateway Athletic Booster Club, PTO’s, PACS, School Councils, School Committee, GREAT, the Gateway Education Foundation, chaperone field trips, help in parent centers, run our elementary school libraries, take part in fundraisers, or support Gateway students and schools in any other manner. On behalf of the Gateway district, I invite ALL of you to come to our 9th Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner on March 7, 2013. Dinner will be served by the Gateway principals, directors and I from 5-6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria. Child activities and door prizes will also be available, as we take an evening to recognize and thank our volunteers.
