The labor market is still tight and businesses across the country — no matter the size — are still having trouble filling vacant positions. It turns out the same is true for nonprofits. 

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the volunteers on which they depend started disappearing. Formal volunteer participation, which is volunteering through organizations, dropped 7% between 2019 and 2021, according to a joint survey by the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps. That’s the sharpest decline since the survey began about 20 years ago. 

In Los Angeles, Skid Row is the epicenter of the city’s homeless population. It is also home to the nonprofit School on Wheels, which has long relied on volunteers to tutor and mentor the children who call those streets home. 

Here, the sidewalks have long disappeared, draped by collapsing tents and lives. Emergency sirens and voices of despair are a constant refrain. The last thing you would expect to hear is children’s laughter.

Wearing colorful backpacks, it’s a quick sprint to the doors of School on Wheels. And when they enter the afterschool learning center, they are welcomed with hugs and high-fives. 

“We have about 60 kids here almost every day,” said Catherine Meek, the executive advisor for School On Wheels. “The children live at the Union Rescue Mission or other nearby shelters or cars, even on the street.”

Waiting for them is a snack and a chair with their name on it. Children’s artwork that in homes would adorn refrigerators covers nearly every wall — a haven from the misery and violence on the other side of the school’s windows.

“It’s not just somewhere to do their homework, they have a trusted person that is a mentor to them, a role model for them,” said Meek. “We could not exist without our volunteers.”

As with many nonprofits, when the pandemic hit, the school’s volunteers disappeared. And recovery has been slow; the economy is a factor. There’s also been a waning interest among a younger generation. In response, the school turned to seniors.

“It’s been wonderful,” said Trixy Wattenbarger, a recently retired professor and new recruit. “You just get really involved with helping them and the children themselves are so receptive. It fills you with such joy.” 

In one of the classrooms, older children are getting help with their schoolwork. Down the hall, younger children are sitting at a small round table, a safe place to take a nap, their arms crossed over a backpack or open children’s book. “Because they didn’t sleep at night,” Meek said. “So much noise, interruptions, fear going to sleep in a shelter with hundreds of people around you.”

For this nonprofit, the senior volunteers worked out better than they could have imagined.

“They bring, especially to our younger students, they bring almost a sense of safety, a sense of trust,” Meek added.  

So important when your neighborhood is Skid Row.