A.J. Curley tries to make things work

Volunteerism is struggling in many communities and now it appears the same affliction is trying to take root in Rankin Inlet.

Rankin recreation co-ordinator A.J. Curley said, in his opinion, you need a proper upbringing to be the type of person willing to volunteer for things and make their community better.

He said within Rankin, there seems to be only a handful of people like him who are willing to step up and help out when needed.

“There's a lot of people who have opportunities here, young people who are just getting out of school,” said Curley. “But, then again, the thing that puts people off is how many who say they want to leave Rankin and the heck with this town.

“On the other hand, there's people in this town who do a lot. And, I think, there's a lot of good people who now have a good opportunity to take what is in place and make it even better that what I did.

“But, the only people who I can see taking on a job like this are people who have experience dealing with the public, making announcements and being straight forward.”

Curley, 24, said there's a lot of people now who are only interested in helping out if they're getting paid for their efforts.

He said, for whatever reasons, there are a lot of people who don't like to volunteer anymore. He said the people you mostly see volunteering are the parents who have kids registered in minor hockey and things of that nature.

“If nobody wants to volunteer and nobody wants to run the various games, how are we going to have a good, fun town if nobody wants to step up and make it great?

“That's kind of the difficulty I had in trying to come up with new things, but things get very repetitive without new people with new ideas. You can't really break the cycle unless you get help from other organizations.

“You need to ask for, and receive, help once in awhile to keep things fresh, new and exciting for everyone.

“That's the only way that everything comes together the way you'd like it to.”