Did you know we are the gold club? No, we don’t have gilded banisters or chandeliers. But we most certainly have a steady supply of gold. Take our clubhouse, for example. It was built by our founding volunteers as a garage for their hand-me-down fire truck. More volunteers gradually improved it over the years, and we now enjoy comfort valued at $169,000.
In that clubhouse, we enjoy being served by volunteer caterers and bartenders, who enjoy serving from a fully-stocked kitchen and bar. We don’t even have to tip! We enjoy free exercise class, indoor and outdoor games, and a well-maintained lending library. On the way in, we walk past eco-friendly landscaping and salute a flag that is always in the right position. We even enjoy using our new, lovely restrooms. Many people look forward to this newsletter each month, and meanwhile we stay informed with email broadcasts. I’m neglecting hundreds of volunteers here, but I only have one page to ramble on.
In a culture where we gladly pay good money for good times, it’s easy to overlook people who give us free stuff. The Council on Aging recently thanked SPVCA for donating money for handicap ramps. NOT. They thanked the SPVCA volunteers who donated their time to BUILD handicap ramps. How much would that donation be in dollars? Housewives sometimes add up the market value of the work they do just so everybody is clear that their time is, indeed, valuable. Can we do that with our volunteers?
Let’s try it with a report from the exercise class. I’m going to feed it to Excel because I can’t math.
When it comes to the 9:00 a.m. (no fee) Exercise Classes, 5 days a week, it has been “teamwork”!!! Carol White could count on Carol Nelson to take her place when needed. Since Carol W. moved, over 3 years ago, Carol N. and now Michelle handle Mon., Wed. & Fri. and will hopefully be bringing back Tai Chi on Tues., Thurs., as before. Yes, that’s how we get things done…”teamwork” by volunteers… that’s why we call it our Pot o’ Gold.
That’s one hour times the average of five and three days per week times fifty-two weeks times… um… how about a decade? In Excel speak, that’s =1*((5+3)/2)*52*10. Are your algebra nightmares coming back? Hold on, we’re almost there. Zip Recruiter says exercise instructors cost $22. Here…
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I |
| Hours | Occurs | Freq | Freq/ year | Hours/ year | Years | Local Rate | Annual Dollars | Total |
| 1 | =(5+3)/2 | weekly | =B2*52 | =A2*D2 | 10 | 22 | =E2*G2 | =H2*F2 |
| 1 | 4 | weekly | 208 | 208 | 10 | $ 22 | $ 4,576 | $ 45,760 |
Will ya look at that! Oh boy. What else can we calculate? Just look around. There goes Joe… 62 hours on the bathrooms? Here’s Lea… 12 years of food pantry trips? I stepped in after Ivan gave 10 years of treasurer. I need to get this article to Diane… 12 hours a month on the newsletter, you say?
| Volunteer | Service | Hours | Freq/year | Hours/year | Years | Annual at Avg $32 | Total |
| Team Ex | Walking class | 1 | 208 | 208 | 10 | $ 6,656 | $ 66,560 |
| Joe | Bathroom remodel | 62 | 1 | 62 | 1 | $ 1,984 | $ 1,984 |
| Diane | Newsletter | 12 | 12 | 144 | 7 | $ 4,608 | $ 32,256 |
| Lea | Food Pantry | 2 | 12 | 24 | 12 | $ 768 | $ 9,216 |
| Ivan | Treasurer | 17 | 12 | 204 | 10 | $ 6,528 | $ 65,280 |
| 642 | $ 20,544 | $ 175,296 |
That annual labor gift already rivals our 2021 revenue, but we all know this is only the tip of the iceberg. How accurate can we get this picture? Fess up your v-hours to amy@paperlesspontevedra.com. Modesty is noble, but teamwork is treasure. Let’s not bury it.
This article was originally published in the South Ponte Vedra Civic Association newsletter on 3/1/2022.