Daily Herald opinion: Sometimes the community need is for volunteers

It's not always the money. Sometimes the community need is time - and maybe just a little personal connection.

We frequently think that we can meet local charitable needs by sending a few bucks toward a cause we support, but as a front-page story by our Rick West Wednesday demonstrates, at times, getting volunteers can be just as urgent, if not more so.

West described the plight of a year-old Fostering Success program at Elgin Area School District U-46 that aims to provide mentors and financial assistance to teenagers and young adults facing special difficulties in the transition to adulthood. It opened last May with 10 students, has grown to 15 and foresees continuing expansion.

"The challenges a lot of these kids are dealing with are overwhelming," said Danielle Valkner, the program's founder. "These kids are displaced. They don't have permanent housing. Many don't live with their parents. And for those that do, the parents tend to work a lot."

So, the agency is seeking volunteers to act as mentors for young people. Mentors agree to serve for a year. They talk with their assigned student by phone at least once a week and meet in person a couple of times a month. With already a 50% increase in kids seeking the help, Fostering Success foresees a need for more mentors.

And many other agencies in the suburbs and around the country face similar challenges. Volunteerism and financial donations surged immediately after 9/11. Later in the decade such charity began a slow decline, but began to rebound by 2018, when a study by the University of Maryland's Do Good Institute found a curious anomaly.

"Despite recent record highs in total volunteer hours ... and total charitable dollars ... given to nonprofit organizations, the United States has experienced a significant decline in the percentage of Americans who volunteer and give annually," the study found.

In the case of Fostering Success, volunteers play a pivotal role in the lives of the young people they assist. They can be striking. Valkner described the case of a troubled 18-year-old who was evicted from a family member's house and needed emergency housing and rental assistance.

"Now he's got two jobs and is fully self-sufficient, and has kind of graduated out of our program," she said.

And, such work is also good for the volunteers. Numerous studies have found that volunteering makes people happier, in addition to providing opportunities to make valuable long-term relationships and even foster career advancement.

Nor does it require involvement with people who have extra financial resources. Anyone with some time, interest and a desire to help others can make a difference with lasting impact.

Fostering Success volunteer John Puglia, of Carol Stream, told West of about the rewards of his experience.

"It's a relationship that I think will last forever," he said.