South Florida is starting to slow down as snowbirds flock back north to escape the sweltering summer months. And though residents are enjoying less congestion on the highways and more open seats at the bar, the off season is presenting a struggle for local nonprofit organizations who are in need of volunteers.
While staffing is always a challenge for businesses and nonprofits alike during summer, Boca Helping Hands (BHH) Executive Director Greg Hazle says that this year stands out in terms of shortages.
“It’s been a combination of factors that have created this little bit of a crisis that we’re going through,” says Hazle, citing lingering fears of Covid amongst potential volunteers as well as employee groups from their corporate partners shifting to remote or hybridized work settings.
Hazle says that BHH’s food and service operations are the most affected by the shortages and that the organization’s operational staff have had to pick up the slack where 90 percent of the nonprofit’s volunteers would usually dedicate their time.
“Fortunately we haven’t had to curtail any services, it’s just made it harder on the staff and volunteers who actually show up,” Hazel says, “It makes for longer days, the lines move a little bit more slowly, but everybody that shows up for service is still being served”
BHH is currently seeking volunteer staff to assist with food preparation and storing, distribution and warehouse operations to meet a growing demand of families in need of services.
“The supply chain issues and all other the other factors that are affecting the cost of goods is affecting our clients,” says Hazle, and that these clients who are working low-paying jobs and struggling to make ends meet rely on the supplemental assistance provided by BHH.
