Talk to the “old timers” in town and they’ll tell you Fountain Hills was built on volunteerism.

Building a community from a former cattle ranch into a bustling municipality of 25,000 people didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen with the wave of a magic wand.

It occurred one volunteer hour after another, as various groups formed to meet different needs – service, social, spiritual.

But what about today? How is the spirit of volunteerism in 2008, and how does it portend 10 years from now?

Has the community’s growth changed the way people get involved with Fountain Hills?

One way to gauge a community’s maturity level – and where it is headed – is to examine its volunteer groups, its houses of worship, its sports and youth leagues.

Participation by residents means the residents are engaged with that community – they are taking ownership and willing to get involved with what interests them, what makes a difference in their lives and in the lives of their families.

The Times this week continues its series exploring the life stages of a community and examining where Fountain Hills is at in terms of its maturity. This is the seventh installment.

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“Things have really changed here,” says Evelyn Breting, former manager of the Community Center and long-time cultural arts supporter and organizer.

She came here in the 1980s and immediately got involved.

“Back then, just about everything was volunteer,” she adds. “You had very capable people step forward to take care of everything. Even down to ladies going out looking for violations to the architectural code.”

With incorporation in 1989 and rapid growth through the 1990s and into the new millennium, however, some of the roles have changed.

Town government organizes many things today – arts classes and youth basketball, for example – but the Fountain Hills Cultural and Civic Association, the Fountain Hills Art League and Little League and Soccer Club remain active in organizing their own cultural and athletic activities.

And a ton of other clubs and organizations help fill the gap as well.

“I think things have changed because of the growth,” Breting adds. “The new Community Center isn’t like the old one. The old Community Center was the hub. New people would come in almost daily to see what was going on or how they could help.

“That doesn’t happen today.”

Yet Breting says that isn’t necessarily a function or the fault of the new center or even town government.

“You have a lot more volunteering today with the schools,” she says. “The needs have changed.

“We used to have just three churches out here. Now look how many. With that type of increase in activities and different things, everyone tends to stick with their own groups.”

Don Lawrence, pastor of Christ’s Church since its founding in 1984 and a former Town Councilman, agrees.

“You have more competition for volunteers, especially among the younger families,” he says. “Kids these days are involved in Little League, scouts, etc., and it seems that more people are doing those things.”

Lawrence maintains that a higher percentage of people volunteer in smaller towns than in larger cities.

“I think you see that especially in the local schools,” he adds. “You don’t see it that much in Phoenix. I think in a smaller town more people are involved on a percentage basis.”

As the local schools have grown the past 35 years, so have the volunteer organizations such as PTO, the mentoring program, site councils, etc.

From a church perspective, Lawrence said these days he observes more activities taking place on Sunday mornings – such as practices for various youth leagues – that he didn’t see 20-plus years ago.

“This makes it more difficult for families to be in church on Sunday mornings and commit to such volunteer activities as Sunday school, watching the nursery, etc.,” Lawrence adds.

“It makes it more difficult on the parents.”

Nationwide trends don’t help, either, as numbers indicate that church attendance is down across the country.

“Generally church attendance is declining across the nation,” Lawrence says. “I think most churches in our community have had their ups and down.

“Some people change churches like they do restaurants anymore.”

Lawrence doesn’t think changing demographics in Fountain Hills have hurt church attendance and doesn’t feel more upscale neighborhoods have yielded fewer active families and children.

“We haven’t seen that impact our demographics in a way many people anticipated,” he concludes.

Heather Ware, volunteer coordinator for the town, recently gave a presentation to the Town Council and outlined the efforts of the volunteers working with the town.

“There is a proud tradition in this country of neighbor helping neighbor,” Ware said. “There are a number of opportunities for volunteer service with the Town of Fountain Hills.

“Helping out gives people the opportunity to exercise their body, brain and their heart.”

During the first six months of 2008 the town’s nearly 450 volunteers have put in 6,430 hours, saving the town nearly $117,000. Volunteer hours are calculated at $18.17 per hour in Arizona based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A sampling of the hours put in for some departments shows 1,704 hours for Home Delivered Meals, 1,045 hours for Senior Services, 1,023 hours for administration, 425 hours at the Community Center, 300 hours by CARE volunteers for the Fire Department and Sheriff’s Office and 60 hours in the municipal court.

The Parks and Recreation Department received 1,873 hours in volunteer help working with various events and programs organized by the town Parks Department.

Sports leagues

As for youth sports, the numbers for Little League and Pop Warner football are down from a few years ago, but again there seems to be more competition among different sports and activities.

Bryan Hughes, supervisor of recreation for the town’s Parks and Recreation Department, said approximately 300 people participate in men’s softball and senior softball per season.

The youth basketball league in conjunction with the Boys & Girls Club draws roughly 300 children annually.

Other programs remain strong.

“Recreation programs saw a great deal of growth in the late ‘90s but took a hit during the budget crisis in 2002,” he says.

“The number of programs was cut back drastically, virtually eliminating programs offered at no charge.

“The Recreation Division currently offers a wide variety of programs for residents of all ages and interests, and it will continue to grow as funding and interest allows.”

The Parks and Recreation Department supports private leagues with facilities, including lights, at no charge and provides staff support in field prep and maintenance.

The town and School District also have an “excellent” inter-governmental agreement, Hughes says, that allows for shared use of facilities.

Hughes believes that once the Ellman property in northern Fountain Hills is developed that the new park areas near the middle school will continue to help meet the needs of residents.

“They will help us to reach the goal of meeting at least the minimum national guidelines for acreage of both neighborhood and community parks of 2.5 acres per thousand people for both kinds of parks,” Hughes says.

The department this year plans to do an informal “needs assessment survey” to get a better understanding of what residents would like to see offered and then plan accordingly for the future.

Simply put, Breting believes there are more volunteer groups today along with more activities, sports leagues, etc.

“And they all seem rather busy,” she says. “There are more people working and volunteering today than in the past.

“Volunteerism is still alive and well, it’s just a little bit different today. It is still the hub of the community.

“Volunteerism is alive and well. People want to do it, but you have to ask them. It will always be a vital part of Fountain Hills.”

New series: Where are we going?
Series, Part 2: Planning is an issue
Series, Part 3: Identity search for finances, too
Series, Part 4: Tourism touted
Series, Part 5: Main Street
Series, Part 6: 'Our schools'