Volunteerism and the Marlton Rec Council
Over the last 13 years, I have had the privilege to work with hundreds of great volunteers that help make the MRC a positive experience for the kids in our town. Whether it was coaching, fundraising, maintaining fields, or planning the season, these dedicated people made sure we had the best facilities, most fun programs, and best memory making in the area.
However, I have noticed a trend over the last few years. The Rec Council is having issues getting people to be volunteers, especially in the administrative parts of the organization. This affects the quality of our programs as the people who do volunteer are being asked to do more than they are able. This has resulted in programs having to be cut (volleyball), age groups being widened (baseball, softball, and basketball), and having an unusual amount of volunteer burnout.
A side effect of this is that people are not interested in getting involved at the MRC general level. We only have 21 voting members- down from over 100 just ten years ago. A lot of this is because the organization has been functioning well. But without having a robust voting base and an Executive Board, the MRC cannot exist, let alone function. To give you an example of our brain drain, of the nine people currently serving on the Board, less than half will have kids active in the program in two years.
The MRC is an organization open to all of our residents. We meet the first Thursday of the month at 8:30 pm to discuss organizational issues. The Executive Board meets the third Thursday of the month also at 8:30 pm to deal with specific issues including field usage, individual sport finances and the like. Both meetings are open to the public. (Note: both of October's meetings are on 10/13 due to Cherokee's BTS night and a conflict on 10/20.) We post our financials weekly in the lobby of our building so all can see our financial soundness and how our sports manage their fees and sponsorship monies.
I am starting my last year in the MRC. I have not had a child play in the program other than being a buddy in the Sports Unity Program for three years. I implore you to think about volunteering more in our program- if for no other reason than you will be the most informed person on the sideline, message board or anywhere else people like to gossip.
to discuss how you can get more involved.
Thank you,
Jim Cucinotta
Jim Cucinotta
Marlton Rec Council- President
