In small rural communities across our region, and for organizations like the Community Foundation of Pulaski County (CFoPC), the spirit of service runs deep.
During National Volunteer Week, April 19-25, community members across Pulaski County, Indiana have even more reason to celebrate the impact of dedicated local leaders like Kelsie Zellers and Kent Kroft.
As a relationship manager at Alliance Bank, Zellers plays a central role in advancing the bank’s deep commitment to community development and agriculture. Through initiatives like increased Giving Tuesday donations—totaling tens of thousands of dollars—support for hundreds of local funding requests, and the commitment by Alliance employees of thousands of volunteer hours over the years, Zellers’ leadership helps ensure meaningful resources reach organizations that strengthen the region.
That same spirit of service is exemplified by Kent Kroft, whose volunteer work demonstrates how small, consistent acts can make a lasting difference. A longtime member of the Indiana Executive Council on Cybersecurity, Kroft has also taken a hands-on approach locally by launching a Sunday evening meal service at Medaryville Methodist Church, offering soup and sandwiches to those in need.
His perspective—that volunteering doesn’t require overwhelming commitments but can begin with manageable, meaningful efforts—serves as an inspiring reminder during National Volunteer Week that anyone can contribute.
“I remember when my wife and I were younger, and our kids were little, there was not a lot of time for volunteering,” said Kroft. “That time in my life taught me about the need to adjust, and maybe that is something that can be helpful for local volunteers moving forward. You don’t have to be at every event, you don’t have to commit to a schedule you can’t manage. Find simple things to do, ways to help out. Start small, with a two-hour weekly commitment, and adapt around that.”
A Strong Tradition, Facing New Pressures
While Zellers and Kroft each embody the compassion, leadership, and grassroots action that keep Pulaski County strong, and while there remain many in Pulaski County committed to service, finding new helping hands to fill essential roles is becoming more difficult than ever.
Tradition alone is no longer enough to meet modern demands, and the number of people available to serve seems to shrink each year. For the CFoPC, this creates a quiet but persistent challenge: how to continue promoting and sustaining meaningful community impact when volunteer capacity has, for many reasons, become increasingly limited.
Rural communities like Pulaski County face a unique combination of pressures that make volunteerism harder to maintain, even as the need grows. Some of the key challenges include:
- Population decline and aging residents reduce the available volunteer pool
- Long work hours and commute times limit availability for many
- Declining interest among youth
- Limited awareness of opportunities across spread-out areas
- Burnout among core volunteers who have historically carried multiple roles
The Role of CFoPC: Connector and Catalyst
The Community Foundation of Pulaski County aims to play a critical role in bridging this widening gap.
Beyond grantmaking, the foundation actively works to connect residents with volunteer opportunities through its Volunteer Opportunity Listing board, by working with area volunteer groups such as Pulaski County Tribe, and by maintaining nonprofit directories and promoting engagement across the county.
In the end, according to CFoPC Executive Director Leeann Wright, commitment is the key.
“When volunteers are hard to find, impact is at risk,” said Wright. “The consequences of volunteer shortage can be felt rippling outward in the sense that it puts other community programs and services in jeopardy. Programs for our youth become in danger of scaling back, or disappearing altogether, and traditions and events that we’ve always enjoyed become harder to sustain as the pool of helpers continues to shrink. Another challenge is that our nonprofit organizations have to spend so much time recruiting volunteers that they have significantly less time to serve and carry out their missions.”
Wright also pointed out that the community’s vulnerable populations, such as children in advocacy programs, are in danger of receiving less support with volunteerism’s continued wane.
For example, programs like CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates)—for which there are three advocates representing the entire county—rely on trained volunteers to support children in the court system. These, and many others, are roles that cannot easily be replaced or automated.
“In a small county,” said Wright, “losing even a handful of volunteers can significantly affect services and the ability to deliver substantial impact. That’s why we feel it is so important to double down on our efforts and make sure that we have an online method of posting opportunities; that we engage with our residents and our youth on social media; and we remain committed to modernizing and improving our avenues for finding and maintaining new volunteers.”
Rethinking Volunteer Engagement in Rural Indiana
Speaking about the organization’s growth and mission, Wright also noted the importance of collaboration and commitment within the community, emphasizing that the foundation’s work depends on engaged local leadership and participation.
In the end, she said, communities like Pulaski County need to rethink how they can better involve residents and rely on them for sustained engagement.
“It’s about so much more than the dollars these days,” she said. “Funding and contributions are vital, and drive our work, but a community ultimately benefits the most from having a healthy pool of residents who follow what’s going on and who want to roll up their sleeves and do some work. That’s why we’ve created platforms such as our online Volunteer Opportunity Listing, and why we’ve worked so closely with groups like Pulaski County Tribe and other online platforms to help us improve visibility and make it possible for our busy residents to find opportunities that can truly fit their schedules.
“We are also working to find new ways to further youth engagement and build up our next generation of volunteers. Our young people might not know how incredible and life-changing it can feel to volunteer and help someone else. We feel that by collaborating, educating, and being creative we can overcome the challenges and get people interested and excited once again about volunteering.”
A Call to Reinvest in Community
Rural counties like Pulaski have long relied on neighbors helping neighbors. Many nonprofits, youth programs, and local initiatives depend almost entirely on volunteer labor to function. In fact, CFoPC itself was founded in 1997 by “a group of volunteers who cared deeply about the quality of life” in the county, and took measures into their own hands for the betterment of the entire community.
That legacy still shapes Pulaski County today. From food programs to youth mentorship, volunteers are the backbone of services that improve everyday life, and CFoPC continues to support dozens of these initiatives through grants and community coordination, and by helping fund projects ranging from education to health and wellness.
The challenge of finding volunteers in rural areas isn’t just about numbers—it’s about connection—and Pulaski County offers a powerful example: A community rich in generosity and tradition, Pulaski County is working through modern constraints—and uncovering every available modern method—to try and keep that spirit of community participation alive.
“In a rural area like ours,” said Wright, “every volunteer doesn’t just help. Every volunteer is precious, and we will continue working to connect citizens and organizations with the crucial helping hands and support they need. And we call on every one of our residents, young and old, if you feel the call of service in your heart, please follow it. We need you more than ever.”