Some prominent Northwestern volunteer groups are struggling to fill their committees, and members are looking at overwhelming time commitments and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for explanations.
“We’re thinking that, since a lot of new applicants are usually freshmen, the unsettledness of the terrorist attacks might have had an effect,” said Alicia Meyer, a Weinberg junior and co-chair of Special Olympics, which holds events for athletes with disabilities.
Although it is unclear exactly what is causing the decrease in applicants to traditionally popular community service groups, both Special Olympics and Dance Marathon — which recently has raised more than $500,000 for beneficiaries and culminates with 30 hours of dancing — have extended the deadlines for committee member applications because of a lack of interest.
Special Olympics has not yet announced its committees after extending the application deadline from October 5. DM announced its committees on Tuesday after a weeklong extension.
“I’m sure it has a little to do with the timing of Sept. 11 and related events,” said David Nacol, a Weinberg senior and co-chair of DM. “People’s minds are with that, as they should be.”
But both DM and Special Olympics said the degree of commitment expected from committee members also could be discouraging involvement.
“I think lot of freshmen and upperclassmen decided they overextend themselves in the fall,” said Michelle Madigan, DM co-chairwoman and a Medill senior.
Community service organizations such as NU’s Habitat for Humanity are less time-consuming and have not had problems recruiting students.
“We never have enough room for the people who volunteer each weekend,” said Ezra Church, a Weinberg senior and co-president of Habitat for Humanity.
“One thing people like is that it’s not an on-going commitment — just come out for a weekend and see how you like it,” Church said.
Leaders from DM and Special Olympics said they expect more students will get involved as the events draw closer.
“People seem more interested in actually going to the event,” Meyer said. “If people have a choice between (working on a committee and coaching an athlete), I have no doubt they’d choose coaching.”
Other student community service groups have seen an increase in volunteers. Among them are Northwestern Community Development Corps, a group that partners students with area community service organizations, and Suitcase Party.
“We had the best turnout, as far as applicants, in our eight-year history,” said Tyler Milfeld, a Weinberg senior and co-chairman of Suitcase Party, which raises money for charity by raffling off vacations.
“We were extremely happy with the response we got, so we didn’t feel we needed to extend the deadline,” Milfeld said.
The terrorist attacks may even have spurred a surge in community service, some students said.
“The mood of the country has a mode of fostering volunteerism right now,” said Melissa Harris, co-chairman of campus outreach for NCDC and a Medill senior. “Nationally I see trends going toward philanthropy and community service. At any time of crisis, community becomes more important.”
Suitcase Party has approximately 90 committee members, up from 70 last year, and an average of 40 in previous years.
The group has put more emphasis on recruiting this year, going door-to-door in addition to posting fliers and sending out e-mails.
Although Madigan said DM removed last year’s members from the listserv so as not to bother people who had graduated, she said she doubts sending listserv e-mails to only new recruits accounts for the majority of the problem.
“It can’t all be publicity because if people really want to do it, they’re going to take the initiative and find it,” Madigan said.
Although DM managed to fill its committees, Special Olympics has yet to fill its 80 committee spots. At its initial deadline, the group had approximately 40 applications, and it currently has fewer than 60.
“There’s a lot to be done and obviously someone has to do it, so the executive board will have to absorb some of the slack,” Meyer said.
