Evening star., 1956-12-16
Community Hit by Drop
In Volunteer Services


the demand Of county agencies
for volunteer workers. But she
is kept hopping trying to find
ways of taking volunteers from
their homes to an agency and
then bringing them back.
Most Of her roster of volunteers
are married women. Many Of
them have school-age children
whom they must meet at home as
soon as school lets out.
An example Of the modern
community program that cries
out for volunteer work Of the
simplest yet most rewarding kind
is the Friendly Visitor" service.
Friendly Visitors are persons of
any age or sex who take an oc-
casional hour to visit a blind
person, one who is crippled or
aged or lonely, a patient in an
institution or a child in a welfare
home.
He Donates" Friendship
Visiting his client" on as reg
ular a basis as possible, the
Friendly Visitor may read or play
games or take his charge for a
ride or a walk, or send birthday
and holiday cards. His job is to
give simple friendship to some
one who would not otherwise
have it.
Other jobs are in scout groups
or settlement houses or recrea-
ton centers. People who can tell
stories, teach music. crafts, cook
ing. sewing, carpentry or sports
are always in demand.
Sometimes the one important
service a volunteer can perform
may be writing letters for a
blind person, receiving visitors
and acting as nurses aide in q
hospital, joining dancing at a
service mems club, driving a car
for the Red Cross or a clinic or
answering the telephone for a
welfare institution.
One volunteer directs a choir
at Lorton Reformatory on week
ends. Others work at Children's
Convalescent Home. feeding
children. playing games with
them and putting them to bed.
Another acts as hostess to pro-
fessional men and women from
foreign countries at an inter-
national welcoming center. An
other visits an elderly blind
woman at home twice a week.
Others assist travellers at the
Union Station Travellers Aid
station. Others are substitute
aunts. uncles. brothers and sis
ters for children in nursery
schools all over the city. Some
sterilize instruments in a med
ical clinic or give allergy scratch
tests to patients.
That such jobs are going beg
Iging is a mystery to the institu-
tons involved. They do not be-
lieve that public apathy alone isl
responsible. They suspect, like
Mrs. Hubbell. that a social change
is at the bottom of It.
Population Change Noted
The changing composition of
the central city. for example, is
a factor. Negroes make UP an in
creaslng proportion of the down.
town population. They as Mrs.
Hubbell says. "are wonderful
workers when they turn out. but
we don't get nearly enough. of
them" She thinks this is natural
because the city Negro does not
yet have the history of volunteer
service. doesn't know the priv
ilege and joy Of it,"
At the same time, according
Ito Mrs. Hubbell. when Negroes
do volunteer many of them turn
out to be among the best work.
ers. Nothing has given her more
pleasure than the 14-year-old
Negro girl who has been coming
to her Office for two hours after
school every day for six weeks,
tipping letters and records for
other volunteers.
The volunteer bureaus have
two reasons for trying to place
volunteer men and women in
community Jobs. They know that
agencies can perform greater
service to the public as a whole
If they have these additional
workers. And they know that
the workers themselves benefit
from such direct participation in
the life Of their community.
But the system is falling out
Of balance. Partly it is the fault
of the volunteer bureaus who
nave taught the agencies to rely
on such a large measure Of vol
unteer help. Partly 1t is the result
Of a social change that is still
going on.
The agencies are not going to
fold up. If they cannot get vol
unteers. they will simply reduce
their programs Of service, or else
put professional workers in the
jobs. More paid workers means
greater expenditure Of tax or
charity dollars. 1t also means a
loss In contact with the commu-
nifty at large that only volun-
teers can provide.
In either case. human beings
a 90 khA 1AeAwe