In 2017 Johns Hopkins researchers were asked to find the value of Rotary’s volunteer services around the world. This, in response to increasing pressure that volunteer organizations prove their impact and quantify their outcomes. What Rotary International was seeking was solid data to prove the scale and economic value of Rotarians’ collective volunteer service.
The results of the study were published in December 2019 in a report called “The Scope and Scale of Rotary Volunteering.” Here’s what they found. Rotary’s 1.2 million members volunteered nearly 5.8 million hours over the four-week study period. The report notes, “if the overall Rotary membership maintains this level of volunteering over even nine months in a typical year, this translates into a conservative estimate of nearly 47 million hours of volunteer effort generated by Rotary members in a typical year.” Forty-seven million hours.
To put a dollar value on volunteering, researchers had to figure out what it would cost to hire someone to do the same work in the countries where the volunteer activities took place. But since detailed wage data were not available on all countries, average wage rates for selected countries were used, then extrapolated on a regional basis. The economic value of volunteer services provided by Rotary adds up to an estimated $850 million per year. $850 million.
A similar study was conducted locally in 2017 when Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians were asked to estimate their annual volunteer hours. Hours were generally higher in the more activity-intense summer months. Surprisingly, though, hours were strong in winter months during planning for the event months. In total, according to the study, almost five-thousand hours were volunteered annually by Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians. At a $15 minimum wage level, this translates to approximately $75-thousand of annual economic value in North Kitsap. $75-thousand.
So, where do those hours go? Many are invested in raising money through the Club’s annual fund (and fun) raiser events - the annual Swing for Rotary Golf Tournament in June and the annual Rotary Auction in February. Such funds are, in turn, granted to community recipients such as the Boys and Girls Club, Kitsap Homes of Compassion, the local Community Meals program, Kinston Cares/Food4Kids, as well as one-time community needs. They also go to projects like the Village Green Park pavilion and benches, Kingston High football field lights, and the electronic community information sign at Lindvog and Highway 104.
Many volunteer hours go to local causes like Kingston Cares, the Kingston Historical Society, the Food Bank, the Kingston Citizens Advisory Council, the local Boy Scout Troop, and the State Ferry Advisory Committee. Many hours are volunteered in Club operation and leadership.
Back to the Johns Hopkins study, Rotary’s volunteers dedicated forty-nine percent of their volunteer work to project management, organization, and coordination; thirty-three percent to manual tasks such as cooking and serving food, cleaning, building, operating vehicles, making phone calls, and staffing booths; fourteen percent to technical and professional activities, including accounting, legal, medical, and fundraising work.
Next time you see a Kingston North Kitsap Rotarian, ask him or her about their volunteer hours and activities. And if it sounds of interest, ask about membership. Rotarians around here like to think of themselves as “people of action.” They come together to have fun, enjoy fellowship, and provide leadership - even, and especially, in this unprecedented time of worldwide pandemic - on important community projects, activities, and events. Visitors are welcome to “Zoom” into a Wednesday, noon, meeting any time. To request the Zoom link, email rcarter010@centurytel.net.