Surge of new volunteers eases nonprofit groups' load

"You see so many people losing their jobs, so many people without, that you feel this urgency to help," Kim Stobo, 31, of Oakton said Thursday evening while volunteering at the Alternative House shelter for teenagers in Vienna.

Stobo began going to Alternative House weekly a year ago, her first experience volunteering. She cleans house, prepares meals and helps counselors conduct group discussions.

"The big thing for me was just giving back," Stobo said, especially because she and her husband "have both been successful in our careers." She works in the District as assistant to a lobbyist for the International Longshoremen's Association, AFL-CIO.

Stobo recently recruited friend Roya Nassiri, 31, of Reston to volunteer at the shelter, too. "I just hope it catches on and people jump on the bandwagon and give their time. It's amazing how many institutions need help," said Nassiri, who works for Calvert Investments in Bethesda.

Personal financial pressures and joblessness are also driving the interest in volunteerism. "What I've noticed is a lot of people are not able to give as much as they used to financially. So we're seeing a lot of people give more of their time," said Don Dixon, director of volunteer services and food services at So Others Might Eat.

Although many volunteers do such traditional tasks as serving meals or spending time with the elderly, the new generation increasingly is offering professional and business services, such as Web site redesign and public relations consulting.

"The baby boomer generation is the most skilled volunteer base that we have ever had," said Gwendolyn Moseley Coleman, program director at Family Matters of Greater Washington. "They are computer savvy. . . . They can come in and assist you a lot in project management."

No matter how they help, volunteers typically emphasize the personal satisfaction they get from contributing.

"I love to hear their stories," Paula Mattison, 40, of the District said of the Washington Home residents with whom she socializes regularly as a volunteer.

Mattison, who works in medical administration, began going to the Northwest nursing home a little over a year ago. "I just wanted to get involved in things," she said Thursday after joining seven other volunteers and 15 of the nursing home's residents at an entertainer's performance.

Carol Varghese of Northwest, who helped organize the evening through Greater DC Cares, had so many offers that she had to turn away three or four others who wanted to volunteer. "That's the first time that's happened," she noted.

E-mail me at mccartneyr@washpost.com. I'm taking a break for a week. The column resumes Dec. 3.