A question for my esteemed contacts. This is something I have thought about before, and could have been a case study in the Ethics course that we taught years ago at Conestoga College, Volunteer Management Program. In a recent newspaper article on children’s physical activity, it was mentioned that the annual cost for a 16 year old girl to participate on her school’s rugby team is $400. If parents volunteer that cost is reduced to $250. Is this coerced volunteering? The volunteering in this case is during school hours. Only some parents have the flexibility and opportunity of helping in that way at that time. Does requiring parents to volunteer in order to get a reduced fee in sports or recreational activities create economic and other barrierrs? Many sports programs do this. What are your thoughts? Many of you likely have personal experience about this to share.
Martin J Cowling
4mo
Fascinating dsicussion. This model appears in and out of history. When I was in primary/grade school, parents who volunteered in the parents association and its events got discounts on the school fees. I am curious 1. does it actually achieve greater engagement? or are teh people who volunteer 2 what are the associated negatives? ie people then link volunteering to compulsion/burden/negativity.
Offering reduced fees for parental volunteering can feel coercive, as it pressures parents to volunteer for financial benefits, which may not be feasible for all due to work schedules or other commitments. This model can create socioeconomic barriers, benefiting those who can afford the time to volunteer and potentially increasing inequality. Ethically, linking volunteering to financial incentives distorts its true purpose, turning it into a transaction rather than an act of community service. Programs should explore more inclusive models and diverse funding strategies to ensure equal access to extracurricular activities for all students, regardless of their parents' ability to volunteer. Great question!
Carine Strong
5mo
Thanks for sharing, that presents a huge problem and definitely creates barriers. Parents who are struggling to put food on the table and paying for their children to play a sport don’t have time to volunteer because they are often working two jobs and then they pay more as well to participate. So wrong on many different levels.
Erin McLean, MA - a future Ethics article for Engage?
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5moAs a busy, self-employed parent, I appreciate when I can pay to get out of volunteering, or volunteer to get out of paying if I can afford to spend the time. To be inclusive to all however, schools and sports organizations could implement a policy and practice that if families can’t afford time or money for various reasons, that it wouldn’t preclude their child from participating in sport. Perhaps they also could offer the option to more privileged families to “volunteer more than your requirement” to be able to lessen the burden on another family of having to volunteer or pay. Some families in sport volunteer way more than the requirement anyway, and others might volunteer more if it was more obviously tied to an altruistic goal of supporting other families.