Are Working Bees A Thing Of The Past?

I am have been in the 'kids at institutions (schools and kinders) age now for a bit over 2 years. I have been to working bees in this time and think the attendance is absolutely pathetic. 40 kids at the kinder 4 couples turn up. Earlier this week I built a cover over one of the sandpits to keep the sun and weather out. I did it with one other Dad and my father inlaw. Great turn out for the advertised working bee.

Now as a kid I wient along with my dad to working bees, I have been excited about the prospect of being able to go to a working bee am I odd? (don't answer that). Why don't people turn up to these things. Why do they prefer to pay a maintenace levy rather than turn up and contribute a couple of hours time?

It would have been nice to have some other people turn up and take an interest in where their child learns.

My two bobs worth!
SN

<st1>Shannon,</st1>
I don’t think things have changed all that much over the years. I used be a member of the local Scout Group in a small Nth Queensland town and my Dad (and Mum) always showed up for working bees and fund raisers but they were two of only a few and the same faces were there every time.
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In more recent times I was the Group Leader for the local Scout Group for about 10 years where I now live and I found the same problem. 100 families in the group and a half dozen volunteers for the working bees.
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If I could just share my observations - At one end of the spectrum you will always have the few genuine willing helpers and at the other end you always have a few genuine ar#$holes who think the world owes them a living. However in the middle you have that big bunch who, for a variety of reasons/excuses, just don’t bother.
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As a parent going to working bees for the schools and groups my kids were involved in I found the one thing that really got my goat was the lack of organisation of these things. It’s all very well to say there’s a working bee on to do this or that, but you need organisation. Who knows what has to done who has the skills, who will bring what tools etc. People’s time is valuable so don’t waste it. The last thing you need is a whole bunch of folk all with shovels and no rakes or wheel barrows standing around wondering what to do and thinking that they could be home cleaning the pool or watching the football.
I found as the Scout Group Leader that people are more likely to be a part of something if they are asked directly rather than through a general newsletter item saying that next weekend we are building a shed etc. I found the most effective way to get people on board was to get those few reliable, always turn up to everything type people to be responsible for a small groups of the rest to whom they go directly to ask if they could help. Make sure they know what’s expected of them, what to bring and, if possible how long you will need them for.
Just my thoughts
Ian

A lot of people are time crunched, and any time at home with the kids is precious, those that dont work at the weekends may also have other activities already organised (Sports, or other hobbies etc). Depending on haw many kids you have and what their interest are, There is a proliferation of oranisations asking for working bees, you have primary school, playgroup, creche, childcare, scouts, sports clubs, etc. If you do all these when so you get a chance to do maintenance on your own place.

People will sit down and do the sums, if the maintenance fee is less than what they are willing to pay to spend time with their kids at home, they will pay it

I have to say that the working bees at the kindergartens at North Sydney and Killara that our kids attend(ed) have been really well attended (between 30 and 45% of families).

Why?

• The staff were there.
• There was a parents support group already in place to make it clear that this was a part of being part of the Pre-school.
• It was clear that no-one had to do more than 1-2 hours work.
• Plenty of notice given, but also a blitz of advertising in the last week.
• Focus on involving the kids in the working bee and having things for them to do at the same time (increases pressure to go so they can be with their friends).

Gra,
The problem with the "pay as you go" approach is that you start to exclude those who genuinely can't afford it.

Some situations do not lend themselves to the "some pay and some do" approach

Ian

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Originally Posted by Ian Smith

Gra,
The problem with the "pay as you go" approach is that you start to exclude those who genuinely can't afford it.

Some situations do not lend themselves to the "some pay and some do" approach

Ian

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didn't say it was right, just how I see things happening....

I use to work out in the bush many years ago and a lot of work got done on community halls etc with working bees. They had great turn out of people and they made a day out of it. BBQ etc and kids came along and joined in the activities.

its kind of sad to see things going this way. I remember as a youngster most people would pitch in and have a go. Now days people seem a bit shy to help out. Perhaps a lot of this publiic liability stuff that has been doing the rounds could be scarying them off as well.

Then there are the down right rude ones who dont seem to care as long as they get what is theirs. My wife and I were involved with my sons day care centre Xmas party last year. I ran the BBQ and we struggled to keep the food up. No one offered to help out but quite a few complained that they hadn't had their sausage sanga.

There will be no XMAS BBQ this year as the company who owns this centre feels that there could be some laibility issues if some one gets sick from it. Kinda sad really that kids miss out because of things like that.

I have a great neighbour who gives me time every week, and I struggle to be able to help him in most ways as he never stops doing. As for the rest of the population, they seem so different now, than from when I was a kid over fifty years back. From personal experience, I witness annually, a gathering of about two hundred kids who do a performance. During the two months leading up to that performance, just a handful of women work to get it all together, and maybe four men. Three of the men are not connected in any way, but volunteer. When the perfomance is on, most parents show up, and whinge about the drinks being sold for half the price they would pay at a snack bar. Yes, they whinge about funds being raised for the kids. :((

I see a lot of young people near where I live who are unempoyed and lay about on the front yards of their homes. They could be raising vegetables and fruit as well as keeping a few chooks, but don't seem to want to have a working bee for themselves even. Bloody sad lot. :(

I must find room for some chooks meself. :)

Hi shannon

Dont think people are lazy or pathetic generally, most are just busy.

Here is my week.

Mon - work, son1 has soccer 4-5.45 then hapkido 6-7.30
Tue - work, son2 has swimming 3.45 to 5
Wed - work, son1 has music 3.30 to 5
Thur - work, coach soccer 4 to 5 with son2, son1 soccer 4 to 6
Fri - work, son2 soccer 6 to 7.30
Sat- coach soccer in morning

And thats just organised activities. So add in cooking, gardening, looking after 1 yo, washing car, spending time with kids. I do canteen each fortnight and help out with cooking etc at school for events etc.

I think today we just run out of time.

cheers

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Originally Posted by Bluegum

Then there are the down right rude ones who dont seem to care as long as they get what is theirs. My wife and I were involved with my sons day care centre Xmas party last year. I ran the BBQ and we struggled to keep the food up. No one offered to help out but quite a few complained that they hadn't had their sausage sanga. .

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Were you rude to them. Thats what I do, tell em to get stuffed, most whiners are gutless and a few nice words work wonders. :D

Get your own ^^&%% sausage you sook :)

out here we dont have working bees rather they are called -ups and we'll do a few jobs while we're there. always great attendances but then all these guys are local farmers so they can march to their own time

I too have three kids Dazzler, aged 2, 4 & 7, I have a week not unlike your own. I don't go to working bees every weekend just a couple of times a year. I see it as the best way to meet the people to whom we entrust our kids and to say thanks for the job they do.
My son has told me that he wants to see the shelter over the sand pit that his dad made.
This gave me the chance to use the skills I have and the tools I am priveledged to own.
We live in such a lucky country and much of our short heritage I suspect that has made it such a place involved people working together and getting things done. Not to get paid for it, not for recognition but to contribute and pull their weight.
I will try and keep attending these things and take on some advice such as specific job allocation, preparation and a personal approach to inviting people to be involved.
Cheers
Shannon

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Originally Posted by dazzler

Were you rude to them. Thats what I do, tell em to get stuffed, most whiners are gutless and a few nice words work wonders. :D

Get your own ^^&%% sausage you sook :)

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Yeah I had a case of the Travis Tritts big time but my wife sugested that I leave it alone and slow down the cooking just to annoy them a bit more. In some ways that was that was just as good as having a stand up in fron't of them.

Are they dead? Dunno. But I help out at working bees at the church I go to and at a Retirement Home at Ringwood.

People give up their time to help me, so I return the favour - whether it be to the person in return for helping me or just someone else. Just trying to give back in ways that I can. :2tsup:

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Originally Posted by Gra

A lot of people are time crunched,

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This is a huge factor , though I always found time as did a lot of others 30 odd years ago , but times have changed as has work loads.

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Originally Posted by Bluegum

Perhaps a lot of this publiic liability stuff that has been doing the rounds could be scarying them off as well.

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Another case of political correctness gone mad, I doubt if the playground equipment I helped build and design for the daughters kindergarten would be allowed now , :no:

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Originally Posted by Ian Smith

<ST1> At one end of the spectrum you will always have the few genuine willing helpers and at the other end you always have a few genuine ar# who think the world owes them a living.

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When my daughters were as high school We were on the P & F and orginized among other things school dances , the principal and one or two teachers would attend , the rest wouldn't cause it was after hours and they didn't get paid for these sort of activities, that I could understand but the no of parents that would drop off their kids and if asked if they could stop for even a half hour to help with the carpark etc would get most indignant as they had plans for that night dinner etc , were always the same ones that showed up late to pick up their kids , (which meant you had to stay back until they did), after our youngest daughter finished school we were still involved with the school through friends we had made there but within 3 years all the dances were finished along with the working bees etc.:no:


But to answer the original question If there were no more working Bee's there wouldn't be any honey :doh:

SN,

Are they dead? Slowly dying I think. I was on the commitee of a daycare centre and it was the same faces that turned up to the working bees. These same faces put in the hours of 9am till about 5pm and sometimes longer. Even when a BBQ was organised the attenance wasn't that great. In the end I ended up taking things home to repair/paint all the time (7 years of this) as there was not enough of us or time to get it all done.

The reason I did it was the kids (all of them) deserve to have a nice environment to be taken care of in regardless of whether their parent/s turned up.

Eventually the attendance at the working bees picked up a little when the kids starting telling their parents what so and so's daddy did on the working bee (that took a long time) and pointed it out.

It wasn't until my son left that daycare centre (my daughter was there for 4 years before him) that one parent asked who was going to do all the things I did since I wasn't going to be there.

And now, it's back to the way it used to be (same faces but noone to do the repairs). I know this as the Director of the centre called and asked if I could repair and paint some of the bookcases and other things.

It seems that some people just don't give a s&*t if some else is going to do it.

I was glad I did it (I really did enjoy it) and gave up bitching about the lack of attendance after a few years.


Steve

Not quite working bees, but still on the subject of volunteers. I'm in our local rural fire brigade and we've had a few members leave over the last 5 years but have attracted less new members than the ones we've lost. I can see a time coming when we simply won't be able to respond to a fire due to lack of members.:(

Mick