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The conventional wisdom says that as more people lose their jobs, more people turn to volunteering as a way to gain skills, get out of the house and generally feel better about life. Not so, said the National Conference on Citizenship in a survey released last year. The group found that 72 percent of Americans were devoting less time to volunteering and other civic activities; this surprised the organization’s leaders because in previous downturns the survey did indeed show an increase in civic engagement (they have data going back to 1975).

So is there something different about this particular recession, the first of our young millennium? Or were the conference’s findings an aberration? After all, many nonprofit and social service providers say that volunteerism has indeed ratcheted up during this downturn.

While advocates and analysts continue to debate these issues, National Volunteer Week is once again upon us, and the Friends of the Loew’s will host an expo, co-sponsored by Jersey City, on Wednesday with the aim of matching prospective volunteers with Hudson County nonprofits that need help. Fittingly, the expo is run by a team of dedicated volunteers, including one “virtual volunteer” from the other side of the world, Australian graphic designer Michael Geedrick.

The group launched the expo last year, in part inspired by President-Elect Barack Obama’s call to service on election night. About 300 people came out last year to learn about opportunities at 23 local organizations. Marie Titus was one of them, and this year, she’ll be returning — but as a representative of Hoboken Shelter, where she started volunteering after last year’s event.

The Friends of the Loew’s expect about 30 organizations this year, and are urging the public to come out and make a difference.

“We hope that this expo will spark people to think about which issues touch them most strongly, and for which they want to start to become part of the solution, rather than stay on the sidelines,” says Friends
executive director Colin Egan.

Attendees to the free event will be able to explore hundreds of local short- and long-term volunteer, internship and community service opportunities — serving children, youth, women, men, families, neighborhoods, the developmentally challenged, the ill, the disabled, the homeless, the dangerously under-housed, the hungry, abused children, women, animals, the arts, the environment and more.

THE DETAILS

Hudson County Volunteer Expo
Wednesday, April 21, 12 – 8 pm
At the Loew’s Jersey Theatre (54 Journal Square)
More info: volunteer.expo (at) gmail.com

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