EDITORIAL: When Volunteering Becomes a Chore

Two weeks ago, the Whitehall Country Store received a “donation” to the store - in the form of several broken air conditioners, refrigerators, and other items with freon. The dump charges a fee to dump these items - and, since it was obvious these items no longer worked - these individuals brought them to the Country Store instead while the Store was not open. After the Store received these items and they were found to be defunct, the Whitehall Country Store's volunteers then had to PAY the fees to the dump to dispose of the items. Is this fair? No.

That evening, a volunteer at the Country Store posted a photo of the couple who brought the items to the store, “thanking” them for their “donation” on the Secret Whitehall Facebook page.

Because the situation was not described well—with the details provided in the first paragraph—many comments were made that the Store shouldn’t ask for donations if they aren’t wanted, that the workers have been rude in the past, etc.

As a volunteer for the Whitehall Chamber, the Star Theatre, Gold Junction Presents, We Are HER, and more, I can tell you that it’s hard to be a happy, approachable volunteer when people take your kindness for granted. What’s interesting is that many people don’t realize how many things in this town are run by volunteers: the Whitehall Country Store, the Whitehall Community Library in many ways, Frontier Days, the Haunted House, Christmas Stroll, Farmer’s Market, the Star Theatre, and so many more entities in our tiny community run solely on volunteer power. Please remember that when you are upset with a volunteer; they are taking their hard-earned free time and using it to help Whitehall. And if you knowingly break a rule to make your day easier (such as dumping items at the Country Store because you don’t want to pay the dump’s fees), take a moment to consider how this is going to the day of the volunteer.

A reminder: The PRCA Rodeo and Frontier Days are community events with volunteers running them - no one is PAID to be there, running around in the heat and dealing with vendors, parade setup, road closures, street dances, car shows, tractor pulls, and more. Please be respectful to those who are spending their weekend working instead of having the fun you will hopefully be having at all of these upcoming events!