A sign left standing silent vigil after Cedar Circle Farm’s annual fall Pumpkin Festival speaks volumes. The sign, posted on Pavillion Road in East Thetford and directed towards a small army of volunteers reads, “We couldn’t do it without you”.

At this time of year, “We couldn’t do it without you” is a common refrain echoed by any number of Upper Valley not-for-profits who wish to give a ‘shout out’ for what their legion of volunteers made possible in 2025.

A small sampling of tributes, viewed in and around Giving Tuesday, featured the following:

  • The Upper Valley Haven lauding its 600 volunteers for spending an average of 2,625 hours a month serving The Haven.
  • OVER Home Repair citing their 448 volunteers for contributing 9,293 hours on COVER’s projects.
  • Willing Hands thanking their 753 volunteers for helping to grow, glean and deliver 950,000 pounds of fresh food to 85 recipient organizations.

The takeaway? If America runs on Dunkin, surely Upper Valley not-for-profits run on volunteers.

And yet, the old reliables who make up much of the aforementioned army of volunteers may be getting ready to pass the torch.

Enlistments are starting to wind down for many Baby Boomers who, during their retirement years, have kept any number of local organizations afloat. Whether it is advancing age, physical ailments, increased care giving responsibilities, or travel opportunities, ‘going but not yet entirely gone’ are the “super volunteers” of an earlier era.

Authors Mark Hager and Jeffrey Brudney acknowledge these individuals when they write about the folks who anchor “the work life of an organization day-in and day-out for years on end” (Volunteer Management Capacity, April, 2021).

According to the Center for Philanthropy, “Routine, in-person engagements – such as having the same volunteer show up for the same four-hour slots at an information desk week after week” may soon become a distant memory (“What Does The Future Of Volunteering Look Like?”, January 2025).

So, if that’s the bad news for not-for-profits, what, pray tell, is the good news? How about the fact that waiting in the wings is a whole new cadre of “episodic volunteers” who embrace “engagements that do not demand a regular or long-term commitment” (Hager and Brudney).

Episodic volunteering can take many forms such as corporate or workplace volunteering, described by Forbes as “structured ways for employees to do good together” (April 30, 2025).

Right here in the Upper Valley such pillars of the community as Hypertherm and King Arthur Baking Company routinely send teams out into the community – during work time- to ‘do good together’ at company expense.

A second example of episodic volunteering has to be the meteoric rise, post-pandemic, of platforms such as Catchafire which offer users an abundance of skill-based, remote opportunities across the U.S. and beyond.

On its web site Catchafire issues a clarion call for volunteers in language which clearly resonates with post-Baby Boomers, e.g. Gen Xers (1965-80) and Millenials (1981-96):

Volunteering in your local community is important, and we always encourage community service! That said, there are nonprofits all over the US and beyond that are great places to volunteer and could use your volunteer hours. By volunteering virtually, you can support nonprofits in areas that have limited access to talent. Better yet, Catchafire volunteer projects also allow you to volunteer from home, on your schedule, making your work/life/volunteer balance easier.

And, finally, a third example of episodic volunteerism could be “gleaning”. These are seasonal opportunities offered by Willing Hands for volunteers to work 1.5 hour shifts collecting surplus produce from local farms and orchards in order to combat food insecurity.

What all of these forms of episodic volunteering have in common is that they offer flexible, short-term and project-based opportunities. Just the ticket for time-challenged individuals who wish to make a difference.

Vermont State Representative Monique Priestley, a Millenial and super volunteer herself, celebrates the efforts being made to lower the barriers for people “who deeply want to connect” but cautions that many of her peers who wish to engage “just aren’t sure how to do it”.

In Priestley’s words, “We expect people to want to volunteer without showing them what volunteering means and what the benefits are. We haven’t mentored people”.

And, to quote Hamlet, “there’s the rub”.

If episodic volunteering is ultimately to succeed, what is readily apparent to Priestley and other keen observers is the crucial role volunteer managers must play going forward.

Or, to give the Center for Philanthropy the last word, “If the sector wants to reverse the tide of declining volunteer rates, it’s going to have to put more of everything – money, people, research, training – into supporting meaningful and sustainable volunteer management (“What Does The Future Of Volunteering Look Like?”, January 2025).


Skip Sturman, of Thetford, is director emeritus of Dartmouth Career Services and has served on a multitude of Upper Valley boards. In retirement, he has also been a longtime volunteer for Willing Hands and Thetford Recycling.