Volunteerism was the center of attention when the Sag Harbor Village Board met on Jan. 22, with members of the village’s emergency services, food pantry, Cinema Arts Center, and others invited to speak about their work and their efforts to recruit new members.
“Volunteers are the people that make our village run,” said Mayor Kathleen Mulcahy, noting that their ranks range from the fire department to the Save Sag Harbor advocacy group to the committee that oversees Mashashimuet Park — all made up of people who donate their time.
For the village to continue to thrive, she said, the government must encourage more people, particularly younger residents, to give back to their community. “Our volunteers are graying, just like me, so how do we get to the next level?” she asked.
Melissa Hesler, the vice president of the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps, said the corps has been understaffed for years. Its maximum membership is 45, and it currently has 27 people. “We have never had 45, the most we’ve had is about 32,” she said.
Members must be trained and certified in CPR and the use of a defibrillator, have a driver’s license, and live within the Sag Harbor Fire District. The ambulance corps is made up of five squads, four to six people each, who are on duty Monday through Sunday from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Last year, she said, they responded to 711 calls.
Squads are on rotating weekly shifts, and being a member requires committing to a full week of work, said Thomas Gardella, the deputy mayor and the village’s liaison to emergency services.
The corps has problems attracting younger members, said Ms. Hesler, because the time commitment is at odds with their need to make a living. “We all have one, two, three jobs,” she said. “We need help.”
Fire Chief Steve Miller said his department was also understaffed. It has 150 members out of a maximum roll call of 165. In 2019, the department responded to 521 calls. “We don’t have a problem yet, but we’re getting there,” he said.
Members must have graduated from high school, be at least 18 years old, and complete training at the Suffolk County Fire Academy. “It’s a rigorous instruction, more than 20 courses, and a couple hundred hours long,” said Chief Miller. The department’s youngest member is 18; its oldest is 79.
“We’ve had a problem recruiting for a number of years now,” the chief said, citing the high cost of living on the East End. “Younger people are moving out,” he said, and many others can’t afford the time to devote to training. The department has developed a junior program to help high school students prepare to become a member. Volunteering offers “a great opportunity to get to know your community and your neighbors,” Mr. Miller said. Plus, there are financial incentives, such as reduced property and school taxes.
James Larocca, a board member, also noted the village offers a pension-like incentive program, the Length of Service Award Program, to fire department and ambulance corps volunteers.
Gillian Gordon, the executive director of the Sag Harbor Cinema Arts Center, said the cinema will offer free memberships to first responders as well. The work done to restore the cinema after the 2016 fire, she pointed out, has largely been done by volunteers, led by April Gornik and other members of the Sag Harbor Partnership.
“Cultural organizations depend tremendously on volunteers,” she said. The cinema, which she said will open in April, “God willing,” is actively seeking them. “If you only have an hour, that’s fine, we can use that hour. If you want to come in and take tickets, or usher someone, or arrange flowers, or do a lecture. We’ll put [the opportunities] up on the website and also in front of the cinema.” In return for the help, she said, volunteers will get access to film screenings and discounts.
Evelyn Ramunno, the director of the Sag Harbor Food Pantry, said her organization, which is entirely staffed by volunteers, has a robust roster of helpers. “I have 62 volunteers on my list, we do not suffer in that respect,” she said. To make school-aged kids aware of the program, and to teach them “that helping others is an important part of life,” she frequently gives tours of the pantry, based at the Old Whalers Church, to pre-kindergarten classes, as well as second and fifth-grade students.
The John Jermain Memorial Library depends on volunteers to run its E.S.L. and citizenship prep classes, said Catherine Creedon, the library’s director. Gloria Primm Brown, the former president and a current member of the Friends of the Library, a volunteer organization that holds fund-raising events in support of the library’s programming, recommended the village be more proactive about letting people know how to volunteer. “People don’t always know who needs help,” she said. “Perhaps we might have a volunteer fair.” She suggested the library as a suitable place for such an event.
Bob Weinstein, the co-director of Save Sag Harbor, said his group, which focuses on quality of life and the historical nature of the village, needs volunteers to attend meetings of the village’s various boards and report back on issues. Save Sag Harbor weighs in on a wide range of topics that are germane to the village, including the environment, affordable housing, transportation, parking availability, and the health of the commercial district, he said. “We are just a group of volunteers with our hearts in the right place.”
