Fostering literary heritage: volunteering in associations

Volunteer work is our asset. Activities based on volunteering are dynamic and constantly changing.   Because they are very active people, volunteers’ willingness to give of their time attests to their commitment.

The average age of volunteers is around 45 years,  which means that volunteers’ own children are already on their way to becoming adults, freeing up more time for activities outside the home.  On the other hand, many soon become grandparents, a wonderful period when time with the grandchildren nibbles at the available resources to devote to the association’s activities. Accordingly, and depending on who has the leadership responsibilities, there can be considerable ups and downs in member associations’ activities.

The reason for starting a writer’s association is always the appreciation of a writers’ work.  The founders of the writers’ associations can be individuals supportive of a writer’s work, good friends or close relations.  Interest in the mother tongue, the dialect represented by the a, a desire to obtain more information about a favourite writer and a need to get together with like-minded people are common denominators.  The association’s work is relatively cheap to its members; for a small membership fee can join a group with a common object of interest.

Being active in one writer's association offers an easy path of getting to know more extensively the rest of classic Finnish literature. The arousal of interest for the associations representing other writers such as of Immi Hellén- association, Kalle Päätalo-association and Samuli Paronen association becomes easy through the Nimikot Federation. One of the most important missions of Nimikot is to function as resource to encourage cooperation.