Social capital, relationship building and personal benefits of volunteers in outdoor recreation 

Carrie McClelland*
Margaret Johnston*
Connie Nelson**
Harvey Lemelin*
* School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism, 
Lakehead University
** School of Social Work, Lakehead University

Submitted: April 30, 2008
Proceedings of ANSER Conference, Vancouver, June 2008

Social capital, relationship building and personal benefits of volunteers in outdoor recreation
Abstract
This paper investigates how individuals benefit from their volunteer involvement in the field of outdoor recreation and relates these experiences to social capital and the social economy.  In an exploratory study of the perceived benefits of volunteering for the individual and the community, qualitative data were collected from 13 interviews with volunteers in the field of outdoor recreation in the community of Whitehorse, Yukon.  Though study results are broader, this paper focuses on two categories of personal benefits that relate particularly to social capital and the social economy. These categories are: rewards and reciprocity and relationship building.  This study found that these benefits are supported by social relationships developed through interactions among volunteers and activity participants.  We suggest that this interaction helps volunteers create and, potentially, use social capital within their networks.  We conclude that the development of social relationships is a large part of the experience of personal benefits for volunteers, and is important for understanding the relationship between social capital in volunteering experiences and the social economy. 
Introduction: Volunteering and Social Capital
In many communities, volunteers are needed to provide a variety of services to residents; yet, volunteering itself can offer additional benefits beyond the provision of products and services to the community.  Volunteers can benefit personally from their involvement in such a way that their experiences are enjoyable and rewarding for themselves.  Volunteering can fulfill an individual’s need for self-direction and freedom of choice and play a significant role in helping to achieve common goals of the community (Burden, 2000). 
Volunteering contributes to the community through the formation of collective networks that affect social processes (Arai, 2000).  These social relationships and networks are venues for the creation of social capital and for its use by volunteers.  Social capital refers to the value of social networks within a community and is generated through relationships between individuals built upon the concept of reciprocity (Putnam, 2001). Braun and Caster (2004) describe volunteering as a setting for creating social capital that is transferable between social environments and that provides a training ground for practising various social competencies. Social networks such as these are the venues for the creation and use of social capital (Hemingway, 2006; Woolcock, 2001; Coleman, 1988).  
The transfer of information within social relationships is important in the development of social capital (Coleman, 1988; see Sandefur & Laumann, 1998).  Seippel (2006) notes that social relations as social capital within voluntary organisations work by facilitating the channels of communication and transfer of information among members. This relates to the work of Hemingway (1999), who found that social capital arises out of leisure activities that promote norms like autonomy, trust, cooperation, and communication, and who argued that community contributions cannot be made if the activity is not democratically administered. Outdoor recreation activities are undertaken during one’s leisure time and are based around the freedom to choose and relaxed state-of-mind with which the participant approaches the activity. Leisure activities (such as outdoor recreation) provide a space for people to volunteer and become engaged in community processes (Sharpe, 2006).  This suggests that outdoor recreation organisations become active members of the social economy by empowering residents while providing valuable services to the community.
Given that volunteer-based organisations offer rewards to the community and the volunteer, Painter (2006) suggests that by surveying the people who deliver these services, a better evaluation of their influences can be developed. The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between individual benefits of volunteering and wider contributions to the community through social capital. It explores the views of volunteers in outdoor recreation about how their volunteer involvement in the field of outdoor recreation has benefited them. It then links these individual benefits to social capital using a social economy foundation.  
Methods
	Qualitative data for this study were collected from 13 conversational interviews with outdoor recreation volunteers in the community of Whitehorse in summer of 2007. Conversational interviews allow the study participant the freedom to shift the interview focus to topics they think relevant (Neuman, 2006), and explores their personal descriptions of their voluntary activity (Glover, 2004). In order to obtain a variety of study participants, outdoor recreation related organisations were contacted via community and online listings in combination with recommendations from community members and the Yukon Volunteer Bureau. Study participants were adult volunteers involved in outdoor recreation activities ranging from formalised recreational sports teams to loosely organised groups. Analysis involved coding the transcripts, and organising passages under themes grouped into a framework linked to the literature. To maintain confidentiality gender specific pseudonyms have been used in this paper. 
Findings
Study participants were asked about ways in which they felt their volunteer work affected their personal well-being.  All participants stated that they gained something from their volunteer work though some articulated benefits in much more depth than others. Interviews revealed four categories of personal benefits experienced by volunteers; however, for the purposes of this paper, only the categories describing rewards and reciprocity and relationship building will be described here. 
Rewards and reciprocity
Though some volunteering benefits are easily identifiable, such as skill development, all study participants felt rewarded in less tangible ways as well. However, these benefits were often described more sparingly.  Many felt that they gained satisfaction and growth from working as a volunteer, or that the experience of volunteering was healthy, stimulating, and rewarding. Several stated that their volunteer work had improved their outlook on life or that volunteering had made the individual a more positive person. 
Another reward that all participants felt they gained from their volunteer work was the enjoyment they received.  Some people felt that volunteering was an additional way to participate in an activity in which they were already involved or to teach the activity to other people. Some commented specifically that they valued the chance to get outdoors and to work outside. For example, Judy said: “I used to volunteer in that respect because I just loved to be outdoors.” Chuck noted that working on snowmobile trails for a club gave him the opportunity to be active outdoors: “I’d rather put some time into volunteering, get out into the country.”   
Other participants said they appreciated the people with whom they worked in the organisation.  Sherry mentioned that her extensive involvement in an organisational capacity was gratifying:  “I enjoy the people, enjoy being out there, meeting new people. It’s a lot of fun!” All study participants continue to volunteer because there is some aspect of the activity they find enjoyable.  For example, Mike commented, “You just get that feeling and that gets addictive too.” Stephanie enjoyed her volunteering because “you get this adrenaline and it’s so exciting!”  
Some participants felt that the element of reciprocity was a valuable aspect of their volunteer work.  They believed that the volunteer effort they contributed to their recreation activity would be returned to them in some way.  “So you can sort of see that if you do things for other people it comes back around” (Mike). For some, the idea of personal benefits was motivating, keeping them involved. Judy said “I think have to see something in it that I can benefit from personally.  I’m not just volunteering for the sake of [it being] a good thing.” Sandra commented that “You get out of it what you put into it; I really believe that.” 
Relationship building
Almost all participants mentioned that they developed new contacts, friendships, or lasting relationships through their volunteer work. Some people felt that their volunteer work fostered other relationships with friends or family through the opportunity to participate together and develop bonds.  Many people valued the opportunity to reach out from their small community and meet new people, whether recreation participants or fellow volunteers.  Richard commented “It’s very social. I’ve met a lot of people and we’ve done a lot of fun things.”  Hayley was also happy to connect with people: “It’s amazing how many interactions…there’s so many different connections that way.” 
Meeting new people and interacting with them through a recreation activity also provided a medium for experience sharing and knowledge building. Similarly, some participants mentioned social networking as a valuable aspect of their volunteer involvement.   As volunteers meet new people, the connections carry through to other areas of their lives. “You get all of those insights too, you get a whole other group of people you can connect with…you’ll find [with] the size of a community like this, I think, a lot of networking” (Sherry). 
Another aspect of relationship building mentioned by participants highlighted the value of the team of volunteers with whom they worked and felt a connection.  Also, many participants said their volunteer involvement allowed them to feel valued as a part of a community.  They really appreciated working with people who share similar values and beliefs and felt that their participation created a healthy space for them. Mike said “We’re all valuable. We need to feel that about ourselves and the only way we’re going to do that is if we go in and we accomplish things and teach ourselves to care for ourselves.” 
Discussion
This research on the personal benefits experienced by volunteers in outdoor recreation provides us with insight into the connections of volunteering, social capital and social economy. The interviews show that through volunteering in outdoor recreation people can give back to the community in a setting they find enjoyable and personally rewarding.  Furthermore, volunteering in outdoor recreation provides a positive setting for the construction of social relationships.  These findings are consistent with those of Arai (2000) in that volunteers often look for the opportunity to make a contribution to their community and form relationships with the people they meet. Outdoor recreation activities provide a valuable setting for community members to join together in providing and participating in both formally and informally organised recreation activities.   Often defined as non-essential community services, outdoor recreation activities are important locales for exchanges of resources and relationship building, and, for the community, ways to encourage goals related to health, fitness and participation. 
 	The social relationships that are fostered through volunteer involvement are instrumental to the provision of many of the personal benefits articulated by study participants.  Though relationship building was a valued aspect of volunteering in itself, it is through connections with other volunteers and activity participants that study participants most often benefited from their work. This element facilitates the actions of network members contributing to and withdrawing from social capital stocks. The interactions between volunteers in outdoor recreation facilitate individual learning and growth and, thus, promote the development of civic competence and engagement in community issues (see Hemingway, 2006).  
	One area of particular interest in this investigation of personal volunteer benefits is the importance ascribed by study participants to being included on a team of volunteers making meaningful contributions to the community. The relationships between activity members serve a social function for volunteers creating a space for them to fit in and get along with others (see Clary, Snyder, & Stukas, 1996).  This ties in with the social solidarity created through such relationships that are founded on social capital, as suggested by Sandefur and Laumann (1998).  The social relationships created through volunteering made people in this study feel included and important in providing a community service.  Through volunteering, people have an opportunity to work together to make a contribution that is important for their community and its goals. 
	Some study participants explicitly mentioned the expectation of their services being reciprocated as an important benefit from volunteering. As Seippel (2006) argues, it is the reciprocity present within social interactions that supports the sense of belonging and identity experienced by network members.  Social relationships that connect individuals with skills and resources are effective because of the possibility of those services being returned.  Yet, many participants in this study saw their experiences as rewarding regardless of the possibility of gaining something in return. It is conceivable that study participants do not articulate the reciprocal nature of their social networks because they have not yet needed to utilise their social capital stock.  As Hemmingway (2006) notes, the potential benefits to social connections may be unknown to network members until those possibilities are needed.
	This study confirms that although social capital is traditionally considered a communal resource, it is membership in these social networks that gives individuals access to those resources (see Evans & Syrett, 2007).  Personal benefits that individuals receive from volunteering in outdoor recreation are based within the social relationships constructed and reinforced through their involvement. Through these interactions, volunteers contribute to the social economy through increased civic engagement that supports social goals and provides deeper connections for future volunteering. 
Implications
	The findings regarding the benefits of volunteering in outdoor recreation provide us with an indication of the value of these activities.  Volunteers in outdoor recreation are providing an activity to the community while benefiting personally through the experience.  Findings from this study regarding reciprocity suggest that further research is needed regarding the role of reciprocity within social networks in recreation volunteering, and its importance in the creation, distribution and use of social capital.  Such research could investigate the significance of reciprocity for both community benefits and individual benefits. 
Finally, it is important to explore further the significance of the outdoor setting of the volunteer experience and the specific benefits this provides to individuals and communities.  What are the particular opportunities for individuals and how does the outdoor experience enable them to gain personal benefits and to contribute to the community? How are these distinct from other volunteering opportunities and, indeed, how do they link with other volunteering opportunities and the creation of social capital in a community?
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