Lack of volunteers, dwindling memberships, funding shortages and other programming restrictions are just some of the issues community groups are addressing more than two years after COVID-19 made its U.S. debut.

In Butler County, civic organizations have resumed programming after being fully or partially shut down during the height of the pandemic, and leaders agree that COVID created some long-term issues.

Whatever the obstacles, county community and organizational leaders are working diligently to overcome them.

The Rotary Club PM of Butler had to adapt its meeting style during the height of the pandemic, according to the group’s secretary, Leslie Osche.

“We met virtually as best we could. Also on a couple of occasions, we met at the lower level of Alameda Park and went for a walk to be together. So we weren’t completely disconnected from everyone,” she said. “We still managed to do fundraisers like our Turkey Roundup and other things.”

The group began meeting in person in spring 2021. Osche said membership was steady but began to pick up around the same time.

“We managed to have our 100th anniversary dinner that spring,” she said. “Interest has been raised because of the Cultural Arts District project. We’re engaging a lot more people because of this process.”

Osche, who was president of the Rotary Club during 2020, said civic clubs are seeing declines for a number of reasons.

“I think most clubs see an aging population and are trying to find ways to attract younger members. Much like church organizations or fire departments, everyone is talking about the challenges we’re seeing,” she said.

The pandemic only further highlighted vulnerable populations, she added, and exposed needs for members who are tech-savvy.

“The pandemic magnified the need to try and engage a younger population in civic activity,” she said. “If we lose these civic groups, we lose initiatives with them. Without them, we lose the fabric of who we are as a community.”

Soroptimist International of Butler County, a group that encourages empowerment and volunteerism with women in the community, also is experiencing membership shifts.

Treasurer Marianne Hill said the club initially discontinued all meetings and projects by edict from national headquarters. A message was sent to every club banning all work while everyone was at isolating home.

“It really took a toll on us emotionally in the club, and we lost a few members because of it,” Hill said.

In addition to the fear of COVID-19 outbreaks within organizations, volunteerism is a growing issue at the Musical Theatre Guild.

The Musical Theatre Guild (MTG) of Butler, a nonprofit organization founded in 1962, specializes in the production of Broadway-style musicals, providing opportunities for professional and amateur artists while also donating to charities and sponsoring community events.

Every person involved with MTG, from directors to stage managers, lighting and sound crew, prop masters and board members, is a volunteer, according to vice president Barbara Osche, but fewer people have been engaging the group.

“There doesn’t seem to be as many people who want to volunteer anymore,” she said. “Maybe they don’t know how to get involved.”

Barbara added that lack of participation could be detrimental to the guild.

“If we’re going to survive, we need to get more people,” she said.

Newcomers need not have theater experience. Many who join the guild aren’t performers but find opportunities to participate.

“If there’s anyone out there who thinks they want to volunteer, there’s many things they can do. I don’t perform, but I do a lot of the backstage and administrative work,” Barbara said.

Not every community group is having trouble building membership. Some groups are experiencing other post-COVID-related issues.

Safety and illness prevention are primary goals at the guild, and so COVID-19 continues to create barriers to MTG productions. In order to continue working on the latest production, everyone needs to stay healthy, Barbara said.

“It’s just kind of challenging when you try to put a show together like that. You just have to be cautious, because COVID is still around,” she said. “You always have that in the back of your mind.”

Bill Halle, founder and CEO of Grace Youth and Family Foundation, said its volunteers are committed, but some programs, such as the Urban Missions training program, were discontinued due to insurance liabilities.

“We were not able to do our programs, not because people weren’t interested, but because their insurance companies would not insure their kids to participate,” Halle said.

The inability to have mission trips where volunteers came from other states to carry out the programs significantly impacted the foundation into this summer.

Soroptimist International is facing similar blockades in funding and program discontinuation.

“We do all the fundraising. We’re the only means of us getting money into our club to be able to do these projects,” Hill said.

The Spring Fling Luncheon held at the Butler County Country Club is the largest annual fundraiser for the Soroptomists. The group was unable to hold the luncheon for two years during the pandemic, but it returned in 2022.

“By not being able to hold that, we really went down in funds because we had no money coming in,” Hill said. “That almost put us under.”

Besides finances, Hill said the discontinuation of certain volunteer projects was emotional for some members.

Michele’s Mission, an initiative started on behalf of a member who died from cancer, is an example of one of the programs the group put on hold when it couldn’t hold meetings. Members make hand-tied fleece blankets and donate them to patients getting chemotherapy at a cancer clinic.

“Some of these women, this was a very uplifting thing for them to be in this club, and to do these projects makes you feel fantastic,” Hill said.

Partaking in club projects gave members a sense of accomplishment that was lost when the projects were suspended. Hill said two members left the club during this time, and the remaining members only recently were able to recruit new members.

Hill said the group held a “Welcome Back and Welcome To” picnic in August. “We’re always looking for new women to join us. We just appreciate anybody and everybody’s hands, talents, energy and camaraderie.”

The picnic served as an introduction to new members and one of the first times all members of the Soroptimists were together since before COVID-19.

Hill said the members are thankful to reinstate projects and activities they’ve missed and that it’s important to get these events in motion for the well-being of the group.

“None of us could do this by ourselves,” Hill said.