Pittsfield — According to Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires Executive Director Liana Toscanini, there are over 1,200 nonprofit organizations in Berkshire County. Representatives from some 30 of those organizations were present at a Volunteer Fair held at the Berkshire Innovation Center on Wednesday, July 12.
The event was co-organized by the Berkshire United Way and the Nonprofit Center of the Berkshires, and sponsored by Greylock Federal Credit Union.
Toscanini told The Berkshire Edge that there continues to be a shortage of volunteers at nonprofit organizations. “It may be difficult for young people to volunteer because so many of them are working three jobs just to live in Berkshire County,” Toscanini said. “Most of the volunteers that we have today are of my generation, 55 years and older who are semi-retirees. We started to see a decline of volunteers even before the pandemic, but when COVID hit, the older population could not come out to a volunteer fair like this.”
Toscanini explained that the pandemic exacerbated the need for nonprofit organizations and volunteers. “And now, post-pandemic, the needs of the community are greater than ever before,” she said. “We have growing needs at food pantries, meal sites, and a growing immigrant population here in the Berkshires, which are some of the many reasons why nonprofit organizations are more important than ever. We hold these Volunteer Fairs to match people with the kinds of skills that are needed for organizations. It’s much better than a potential volunteer going onto Google and looking for an organization to volunteer for.”
One of the organizations at the event was Shakespeare and Company, including volunteer Henry Baker, who started volunteering with the organization in 2018 and now is the president of the volunteer part of the organization. “We are a volunteer-run organization with 160 volunteers doing different things,” Baker said. “Volunteers are critical to the operations of Shakespeare & Company.”
“One of the purposes we have for these fairs is to remind people of the nonprofit community that exists here in the Berkshires,” United Way President and CEO Thomas Bernard said. “Volunteerism is the core of giving back to the community. People may not have the financial resources to give back, but they have the time and talent, which is what volunteers can provide. The community and its organizations thrive when we all help each other out.”
“Our organization runs on volunteers,” Volunteers in Medicine Berkshires Volunteer Manager Eleanore Velez said. “Volunteers are a very good reason to continue to have faith in humanity. It gives people opportunities to share their skills, talent, and passion to make the world a little bit of a better place by serving the most vulnerable among us all.”
“Volunteers are the lifeblood of our organization,” Pittsfield Community Television Engagement and Experience Coordinator Matthew Tucker said. “We have a paid staff of seven people who are able to keep our core operations running. But without volunteers, we’re not able to do even a small percentage of the programming that people see on our television channels and our streaming services.”
