KIFE dissolving

Read in the PA trappers newsletter that the Keystone Institute for Furbearer Education is gonna be no more due to lack of members. How sad.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank anyone who donates their time and resources for trapping programs. I wish I could do more in my little community. Maybe I can channel that somehow through work.
Trappers seem to be the most giving and enthusiastic about educating the public and our young ones compared to other sportsmen.
I’m awful proud of you all

I agree it is sad to see the next bunch of young trappers won't have that anymore.

Trappers dont seem to volunteer like they did back in the day.

For the most part . . . volunteer is a foreign concept to most anyone under the age of sixty. There are exceptions, and I do apologize to those in their fifties and younger who have stepped up to help out in whatever volunteer capacity it is they serve in. Volunteer organizations are experiencing incredible shrinkage as the holes left by the older generations are not being filled by the younger. The spirit of volunteering is likely to suffer more loss as the children and grandchildren of the "me" generations see no value in giving up "me" time.

Spot on Muskrat.

There are still plenty of giving people out there. There seems to be a lack of young people at the receiving end.
The Virus didn't help matters. An already homebound population of youngsters prior to The Virus were driven further into their homes because of it.
If you are of the giving type, take it upon yourself to avail yourself to one kid at a time.
Wolfie did that recently with a homebody kid and seemed to have a big impact on the kid, and Wolfie too.

re: overall volunteerism: I think there's more to it than just being a "me" generation...

back in "the day", there were real and perceived "needs" not being met, unless it was done so by volunteer organizations, Churches, and/or neighbors. there was no real "safety net".

then came the New Deal, Social Security and the Great Society (and the high taxes to pay for it all).

people quickly learned they didn't need Churches or volunteers to fill their belly or their gas tank if they were down on their luck, sick, etc.

the previous volunteer generation (it's in their DNA to volunteer) is aging out; and the newer generations never had to (their tax dollars LITERALLY became their "volunteerism".)

Absolutely. Offer your time & experience to train a youth or newbie at every opportunity.
Personal teaching is better than any books they can buy

To many think animals are more important than r n humans today just look at the wackos that protect wolves.

Thank you. Did Trapper Ed for 30 years and got replaced by on-line.

Jerry Pickel was very involved in the Kife efforts a very long time Probably more than half of his life...........The report in the PTA newsletter stated that since Jerry passed they have not been able to get even one person to take a more active role in the committee The truth is al of those guys gave countless hours and often their own money to keep it alive this long And Jerry was sick for some time but was always trying to promote the PTA I did volunteer work for a local Pheasants Forever chapter for 27 years It was one of the most rewarding things I ever did We did so many worth while things for youth and adult education For a lot of years we had about 6 or 8 dedicated people that just showed up and did above and beyond what anyone could ask for And I meet some of the best people I ever knew And I am proud to call them my friends At th e same time I also meet some of the poorest excuses of the human race that are out there Most people can deal with being asked to do more But the kick in the pants by those that do nothing gets old after a while Thanks to those that gave a good effort on behalf of the PTA

Muskrat hit the nail on the head. Is the same deal with every small town fire department or first responder group. Wife and I regularly go to a fish boil sponsored by a local Lion's club. That I'm told is on the verge of coming to an end. Old timers are worn out and no one to take their place. Went to an American Legion smelt fry yesterday evening. Doubt there was anyone working that that was under 50. Also noticed the same with the people their for fish. When I was in highschool my buddies and I would pig out at those legion smelt and fish fries.
Just the nature of the world in every group.

Mac

"Never Forget Which Way Is Up!"

Makes a lot of sense , guys. Life got faster and more full of “nothing”. Selfishness abounds. The days of Sunday dinners with family are fading away. People used to make time for doing “the right thing to do”.

In addition, volunteers get frustrated because they are giving a tremendous amount of their time and often money for a given venture and then someone who is doing nothing tells them how they should be doing more. After a while that gets very frustrating and the person often gets burned out and just quits doing anything. A prime example of this is how little league sports coaches are treated.

That sounds maddening!

spot on!