As Edmonton prepares to celebrate Community League Day on Sept. 21, the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues hopes new volunteers will come forward to join the 700 that started in 2023, a number that has risen steadily each year since the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think it really speaks to Edmontonians being interested in being a part of change really locally, and that we have the system that they can do that really easily," Laura Cunningham-Shpeley, executive director of the EFCL, told Taproot. "They can really step in and not have to cross the city."
Community leagues are unique to Edmonton, and came into existence in the early 1900s when the city's population was exploding. Some of the city's 163 community leagues have held events for Community League Day over September, while many others will hold their celebrations on Sept. 21. Those interested can find local events on the EFCL website. EFCL encourages residents to use Community League Day to meet their neighbours, learn about the programming offered by their local league, become members, and find out about volunteering opportunities.
Cunningham-Shpeley said while board members do most of the work to run a community league, people have increasingly shown interest in activity-based volunteering. People interested in sustainability, for example, will volunteer with the community garden or offer help installing solar panels at the community hall, she said.
The increase in volunteers at community leagues could potentially be attributed to better data and tracking, Cunningham-Shpeley said. EFCL has improved its data collection each year since 2020, and is working to track demographic factors like age and cultural background.
Nearly 40,000 Edmontonians purchased a community league membership last year, but EFCL doesn't really know who those people are. "We all kind of make assumptions, right? It's best for us not to do that," Cunningham-Shpeley said.
"It's one thing to say, 'We're an open and welcoming league, we never say no to anyone,'" she explained. "But what does that mean, and what do you need to actually do as a league to show that you're interested in new and different demographics in your board?"
Cunningham-Shpeley said leagues are offering different cultural foods at events, displaying signage in various languages, and celebrating holidays outside of the typical Western fare, like Eid.
"Could we do more? Absolutely, but I think by trying to diversify what we're focusing on and trying to (show that) we're not just sports, we're a whole bunch of things, I think people are starting to notice that," she said.
Beyond Community League Day, EFCL is asking city council to increase the city funding it allocates for leagues during the upcoming supplemental budget operating adjustment. The EFCL requests include $475,000 to pay for upgrades to meet safety codes at 39 league buildings. The organization is also asking for an increase to the Community League Operating Grant, which is now $2.78 million for 163 leagues (or roughly $17,055 per league). EFCL is requesting the grant to increase by $651,000 over two years. "This grant has remained the same for the past 15 years, and during that time we have supported the formation of 10 additional leagues and welcomed over 400,000 new Edmontonians," Cunningham-Shpeley said.