Volunteering in Ely

Do you have a skill you’d enjoy sharing? Whether you can mop a floor, balance a checkbook, sing a song, maintain heavy machinery, explain how to solve a math problem, identify bird songs, take a pulse, coach a kid, fix a plumbing problem, write a letter, make a friend, package groceries, drive to Duluth, or do any of a hundred other useful tasks, there is a place for you to volunteer in Ely. Like hundreds of other Elyites, you can improve your life while contributing to one of the reasons Ely is such a wonderful place to live.

Wait. What? Improve MY life? Isn’t volunteering about making things better for someone else? Well, yes. But research has shown that as little as two hours a week of volunteer activity can make you happier and even have physiological benefits. It’s not hard to recognize that, for those not so fond of the cold, an Ely winter can be made more bearable by getting out of the house to do something enjoyable with a group of friends plus have the satisfaction of helping others. Reduced stress, anxiety, and loneliness are part of what researchers propose as reasons volunteers are healthier than their nonvolunteering counterparts, but exactly why volunteers would have better measurements for cholesterol and a lower rate of death over the years measured needs more study. Let’s meet a few of the hundreds of volunteers who make Ely a better place:

Mike is an Ely native who left for a portion of his career life and returned for retirement. Hard to call it retirement when he works tirelessly as a volunteer for the City of Ely, the Rod and Gun club, Ely Igloo Snowmobile Club, and the Prospector Trail ATV group. Among other tasks, Mike maintains the machinery used to groom the area’s motorized trails, takes his turn stoking the wood burner at the Ely Igloo garage all winter, joins with others to organize the big fundraising rides like the Fun Run and Prospector Loop ATV trips, is a major force in the creation and clearing of the trails, sets out and picks up the signs on area lakes that guide snowmobilers on a safe route, helps decide the rules for cemetery maintenance, and is one of the decision makers regarding city planning.

Mike would like to see younger people volunteering. The trail work is recreational and social–traveling along beautiful trails with friends, pitching in to remove fallen trees and encroaching brush, building and maintaining the bridges, and enjoying a picnic at the end of a good day’s work. Kids love to join in these activities where they learn useful life skills and come to realize that hard work can be fun–a concept too often missing from young lives today.

As much as Mike volunteers, he is very committed to his favorite activity–fishing, which he often shares with his grandkids. “The hours you spend fishing don’t count toward your life expectancy,” he claims. Maybe that’s why he still looks young and has so much energy for good deeds.

Ely has lots of ways to volunteer for outdoor work. Ely Community Resource needs people to help with outings for kids. Ely Field Naturalists needs amateur naturalists to be part of the Christmas

Bird Counts and occasional bio-blitzes. Volunteers can go on a guided Boundary Waters trip with the Forest Service or Friends of the Boundary Waters for just the cost of helping to maintain portages and giving campsites some TLC. For those more inclined to indoor activities, Northwoods Partners is a great choice for volunteering. Some of the tasks are driving, shopping, taking a senior to lunch and hearing their stories, teaching an exercise class, giving a caregiver a break for an hour or two, and crafting holiday ornaments.

Meet Linda, a born, raised, and always-lived-here Elyite. She loves to craft and she’s a good organizer, skills honed teaching in Ely’s elementary school for 35 years. Now in retirement, she puts her talents to use in the service of Ely Northwoods Partners as a major force behind their fundraising activities, including the 21-year tradition of the Festival of Trees in November and a party-like fundraising dinner in early summer. Both events require themes, silent auction set-ups, and seeking out donations and other volunteers to help.

The fundraising committee has lots of fun thinking up entertaining party themes and the activities, food, and decor to go with them. Last June’s theme was Rock Around the Clock, and past dinners have featured Lumberjacks, Octoberfest, and 1920s gaiety. Posters go up well ahead of time so attendees can search out appropriate costumes (optional). This activity was sadly missed during the height of the pandemic and had a welcome return in 2021. The 2024 theme will be “The Wild, Wild West.”

The Festival of Trees features 30 to 40 fully decorated holiday trees and wreaths donated by individuals and groups. There is also a boutique of hand- crafted gifts and the Chairs for Care auction. Linda finds chairs at garage sales, flea markets, and sometimes free alongside the road. Then she looks for artists willing to donate their time and materials to create a one-of-a-kind piece of furniture, often with an Ely-themed finish. One of the most popular items at the holiday event, the chairs provide an opportunity for holiday shoppers to purchase a unique gift.

In addition to being active on the committee, Linda creates ornaments, centerpieces, wall hangings, wreaths, yard and porch decor, and more to donate to the Festival sale and decorate for events. She had been on several non- profit boards in the past, but found her niche within Northwoods Partners.

If rubbing shoulders with youngsters is more to your liking, you could volunteer with Ely Community Resource. They need afterschool homework helpers, Reading Pals during the school day, chaperones for field trips, and help with fundraisers and wrapping gifts for the Holiday Project. A larger commitment is required to be in their youth mentoring program, which pairs an adult with a child who needs another caring person in their life. Weekly or biweekly meetings can include outings or hobbies with mutual interest. Trainings and sharing with other mentors are part of the program.

Dedication is what’s required for a teen-ager to get up early on dark winter Saturday mornings. Grace is a dedicated high school senior who does just that in order to coach the girls’ youth basketball program. She runs drills and stations as the elementary school students work to develop the skills needed to become part of Ely’s outstanding Girls’ Varsity team. When Grace was a child, aspiring to be as accomplished at basketball as her twin aunts were 20 years earlier, she was part of that program. The coaching she received and her eventual success on the team has given her the inspiration to pass it on to today’s young girls, joining her aunts and a few high school friends as they teach dribbling, passing, shooting, and the rules of the game every weekend from early December to midMarch.

Grace volunteers in other ways, too. In Key Club, managed by Ely Community Resource, she joined more high school students to do community service reaching far beyond Ely. They raised money for a UNICEF project to provide school books to children in Africa. Closer to home they decorate for holidays at Carefree and Boundary Waters Care Center. Grace also helped out as a teacher’s aide in the elementary school, grading papers, helping with gym time, and working with students who needed extra help. Although she has a very full life being in three sports and president of Student Council, as well as a summer job at her family’s outfitting business, volunteering is important to her as a means of having positive experiences that give back to the community. She is also giving younger players a positive role model to look up to.

There are many sports opportunities for Ely youth, and a small army of volunteers are needed to make them happen. Chances are that whatever sport you enjoy, there is a program that would welcome your participation, ensuring healthy activities for the kids and providing you with new friends.

Ely’s exciting arts community has an abundance of chances to get involved whether you have artistic talents or are primarily an arts consumer. Interest is more important thatn expertise! Audition for Fiddler on the Roof, the Ely Spring

Musical, or check with Northern Lakes Arts to help build sets, create costumes, or run tech. The Ely Art Walk always needs help to hang displays, coordinate artists and store owners, and create an impressive reception. At different times of year you could join the community choir, the city band, or the cast of a play. Matt is another volunteer you should meet. Since sixth grade he has lent his talents to theatrical productions. He started as Pumbaa in the elementary school’s production of The Lion King and has moved on to supporting roles in many school and community productions. A 2023 graduate of Ely High School, Matt’s job in the maintenance department at MN North Vermilion College gives him free time for rehearsals in the evenings. He likes to arrive early and go through his lines and is often “off book” after just a few rehearsals. Having learned others’ lines as well, he can surreptitiously cue actors who have momentary memory lapses. Matt has a pleasing singing voice that projects well, a natural gift for infusing his acting with humor, and an ability to memorize quickly. He loves getting reactions from the audience, especially laughs. That might be reward enough, but he also has developed lasting friendships through his participation and even landed a paying job on stage last summer as a chorus member in Root Beer Lady. This winter Matt will be helping out back stage with Frozen and is looking forward to singing and dancing in Fiddler on the Roof

If you like working with animals, Ely is the perfect place. Contented Critters is a no-kill shelter just outside of town. The rescued pups, kitties, calves, piglets, and more need loving, play time, and of course, being cleaned up after. Both the International Wolf Center and North American Bear Center welcome volunteers in many different capacities. The Wolf Track Sled Dog races need people to help out mushers at the start and finish, staff aid stations, and manage road crossings. Not everyone wants to be a firefighter or respond to 911 emergency calls. But for those who do, free training is available with Morse-Fall Lake Fire and EMS. Wanting to give back to the community, Jake joined the department three years ago. Like most business owners, he already works more than full time, but managed to devote the many hours it takes for the extensive training. What makes it worth the effort? “Seeing the relief people feel when someone shows up to help,” says Jake. Helping others was all he expected to get out of his volunteer work, but in addition he found a sense of camaraderie that means a lot.

“Everyone helps everyone else, even on a personal level,” he observes. All the fire departments in the area are made up of volunteers, and most are looking for additional help.

Joe is another person working long hours, but still volunteering. One of Ely’s family practice physicians, he also takes time to see patients at the free clinic.

“This is why I went to school and worked to create theses skills,” he says. “So I could help everyone and give back to the community. Joe has also gone to undeveloped countries to provide health care to those who have no other options. “Not everybody can go to a clinic. I want to serve everyone, so this is one way to do that.” If health care is an area you’d like to offer time to, check with Ely Community Health Care. In addition to the doctors, they could use clerical help, fundraising, grant writing, receptionists, nurses, and EMTs.

The Senior Center is building a new role in the community–not just for seniors. They have been hosting craft fairs, cooking classes, community dances, and other gatherings for all ages. Most of the activities held there, from Bingo to ping-pong to bridge, are open to all ages. All the workers there are volunteers, most well into retirement. Some younger folks would be a welcome addition to their board and staff. If you are good at home maintenance, or just shoveling, your help would mean a lot. If you are the type to get things done, you could form a committee to work on reinstituting the affordable lunch program that was popular but fizzled out with the pandemic. These meals provided nutritious meals and important social time to folks who might otherwise open a can of soup and watch a soap opera at home. The commercial kitchen is underused at the moment. So much potential here! Stop by and take a look.

Ely’s non-profit boards are often looking for new members who can bring fresh ideas and fill in with needed skills other members lack. Steve, a frequent visitor turned 9-month-a-year resident since retirement, has done just that for the Ely Folk School. With much hard work and occasional hard times, Steve and his wife developed their own architecture firm in the Tampa Bay area. Their experience with envisioning and then creating a large profitable company from the ground up is now benefitting one of Ely’s most popular and successful non-profits. Some other members of the board had business experience, but Steve’s connections with a professional grant writer and his expansive vision of how the Folk School could grow has brought a new perspective to this sevenyear-old enterprise. Working closely with the staff and other board members, he has helped them imagine a larger campus that would allow additional programs such as woodworking, longer and more advanced class offerings in popular subjects, and better pay and benefits for staff.

Other non-profit boards in Ely are looking to round out the skill set of their members. If you feel particularly drawn to the mission and activities of one of Ely’s non-profits, find another board member or speak to the executive director about joining their board.

All participants in Ely’s city boards, commissions, and committees are volunteers. About half need to be city residents, but those living outside the city limits are welcome to these important groups that make decisions impacting the everyday lives of area citizens. Most positions require only a few hours a month. Some of the groups are the Police Commission, the Library Board, the Parks and Rec Committee, the Preservation Committee–focusing on historic and cultural locations, the Project

Committee–managing a big budget and setting priorities for infrastructure improvements, the Tree Board, and the Utilities Commission. There are several more, so if you have an area of expertise or just an interest in city governance, there are plenty of ways to contribute. Of course, there are elected positions too, including the city council and mayor, so you can find opportunities to fit your schedule and desired level of commitment.

Have you noticed an unmet need in the Ely community? Start your own nonprofit and recruit volunteers. Your good idea could become another reason Ely is such a great place to live, and if current research is right, you’ll live longer to enjoy this place.

Ely Facebook pages are one way to find the volunteer job that’s right for you. Visit the places mentioned here online or in person, look at posters for events, go to a newcomers gathering at the Folk School, ask around. It won’t be hard to find something fun and rewarding.