I wholeheartedly endorse the message of this post. Volunteering is what creates naturist events and protects our public venues. I would add that naturism is like Tinkerbell; it needs constant support or its light goes out. I’m fond of saying that 90% of successful naturism is just “showing up” to meetings and events.
Here at the B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation (beachesfoundation.org) we welcome volunteer help, and we will need more soon. Our mission is to create and preserve nude recreation opportunities on public lands across North America, and we are the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit doing this work. We tackle political issues surrounding nudism, as well as the practical considerations of partnering with local government and businesses and education the public. Our name stands for Beach Education Advocates for Culture, Health, Environment and Safety, and that pretty much says it all.
Might help to be a little more specific on what opportunities there ARE to volunteer FOR. The organization websites (at least the public pages) are very general. I don't see any information on what volunteers they could use. Also, in most cases, volunteer efforts need to use online tools. Physically traveling somewhere to help is usually not practical for people who don't live near wherever help is needed. Local clubs (both landed and non-landed) can certainly use volunteers too. But there may still be travel issues. And such clubs tend not to have a good online presence for requesting volunteers and sharing efforts.
On that front I can't offer much as I don't officially represent any of these organizations or their efforts to recruit volunteers. I've found that in my own experience, involvement has largely required my personal effort to get involved, attending board meetings as a member/spectator when allowed. It always required me seeking them out and making the connections. All of the organizations have events, both physical events like conventions, or online events. In fact, AANR has a zoom meeting that is open to all members tomorrow (Saturday). And they have popular meet and greets on zoom every month. TNS also holds zoom seminars and lists contact on their website. They're also having a Western Gathering in person at Shangri La Ranch in Arizona this weekend. They have a wonderful magazine and they're always looking for submissions, which is another way to get involved. I will wholeheartedly agree that many of the orgs are not clear on their face when it comes to how to get involved—another symptom of them being generally under-resourced and ill-equipped, I'd say. However, where there's a will there is usually a way.
Well, here's one idea. Newsletters (like this one) can be useful. All clubs should have one that's useful to members. I know of several that do, like Lupin, Laguna del Sol, and Sunsport Gardens. Probably many more. But mainly they just announce club events. It would be a good thing to have news and opinion articles too. They could certainly use Substack, since it allows feedback, which simulates member involvement. And not only members could contribute. I wouldn't mind writing articles on relevant topics if asked.
I'd venture to say that naturist clubs and organizations should do more to get their members involved and communicating with each other - even non-members too. By far the best way to get naturists more active in defending naturism (IMHO) is for them to get to know each other better. For people who know something about the history of the American Revolution (you know, 1776 and all that), there's the idea of "committees of correspondence" (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committees_of_correspondence). The idea for folks who wanted to plan achieving independence from England was to use snail mail to circulate plans and ideas, even though it was inconvenient to meet in person (and dangerous, too). The same technique could be used now to suggest ways to stimulate participation in naturist activities, promote naturism, deal with legal issues, or whatever. This could be one of the best ways to recruit "volunteers".
Of course, Zoom meetings could also do this sort of thing. That would have many advantages, but also a few drawbacks (people needing to participate at specific times).
Absolutely. The nudism movement was also established on similar communication. If you can ever spend a day in a nudist library you could peruse hundreds from clubs and regions over years. Recently most have gone online in some form, but usually one that is not archivable or does not allow comments, or, to your point, just involves pickle ball news. I think the answer is a mix of newsletters like yours and mine, and zoom or similar technologies. It’s in collaboration and our efforts to work together.
I think it's especially important that you write, "We must see naturism and nudity not just as recreational activities but as a social movement advocating for basic human rights."
It feels like part of the trend away from robust volunteerism is a shift toward more commercialization of nude recreation—many people view a visit to a nudist club as more of a transaction (i.e., a payment for a service) than as joining a community and movement. Some amount of that is fine (and helpful, in terms of generating revenue). Not everyone wants to, or should be expected to, become a super-volunteer. But clearly the current balance isn't sufficient to sustain the enterprise.
To be fair, I don't think that's a problem inherent to nudism. As participation in civic institutions erodes in society more broadly, I think our "volunteerism muscles" start to atrophy, so to speak. It's a tough challenge, but one we've got to work. I'll take this as a call to step up my own game!
Someone that I know who coordinates volunteering in other fields tells me that volunteer numbers have stayed well below the pre-Covid numbers since lockdowns were relaxed here in the UK. I guess its similar in nudist circles.
As the Friends of Hanlans campaign proves there are definitely worthwhile outcomes to be achieved through nudists getting together to further the cause(s). As much of this work will likely have been done on a voluntary basis
Great comment. I agree that naturism, as a social movement, is increasingly important for the idea and practice to survive. In an era where some groups are active in suppressing ideas, banning books and art, and restricting the expansion of rights for various groups, naturism is also under threat and we must be advocating for the concept as a basic human right.
Very well said & is very true status. I live in India. Here local laws are very rigid & against out of home naturism. No official organisation as such for Indian naturists. There may be local groups, however all are unorganized & there is no definite way to access these groups either to check it's genuineness & further to join. Overall the naturism situation here is very gloomy.. You may please guide as to how to proceed to have formal organization who can work for interest of the genuine naturists.
I wholeheartedly endorse the message of this post. Volunteering is what creates naturist events and protects our public venues. I would add that naturism is like Tinkerbell; it needs constant support or its light goes out. I’m fond of saying that 90% of successful naturism is just “showing up” to meetings and events.
Here at the B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation (beachesfoundation.org) we welcome volunteer help, and we will need more soon. Our mission is to create and preserve nude recreation opportunities on public lands across North America, and we are the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit doing this work. We tackle political issues surrounding nudism, as well as the practical considerations of partnering with local government and businesses and education the public. Our name stands for Beach Education Advocates for Culture, Health, Environment and Safety, and that pretty much says it all.
Foolish for me to have omitted this. It is added now!
Might help to be a little more specific on what opportunities there ARE to volunteer FOR. The organization websites (at least the public pages) are very general. I don't see any information on what volunteers they could use. Also, in most cases, volunteer efforts need to use online tools. Physically traveling somewhere to help is usually not practical for people who don't live near wherever help is needed. Local clubs (both landed and non-landed) can certainly use volunteers too. But there may still be travel issues. And such clubs tend not to have a good online presence for requesting volunteers and sharing efforts.
On that front I can't offer much as I don't officially represent any of these organizations or their efforts to recruit volunteers. I've found that in my own experience, involvement has largely required my personal effort to get involved, attending board meetings as a member/spectator when allowed. It always required me seeking them out and making the connections. All of the organizations have events, both physical events like conventions, or online events. In fact, AANR has a zoom meeting that is open to all members tomorrow (Saturday). And they have popular meet and greets on zoom every month. TNS also holds zoom seminars and lists contact on their website. They're also having a Western Gathering in person at Shangri La Ranch in Arizona this weekend. They have a wonderful magazine and they're always looking for submissions, which is another way to get involved. I will wholeheartedly agree that many of the orgs are not clear on their face when it comes to how to get involved—another symptom of them being generally under-resourced and ill-equipped, I'd say. However, where there's a will there is usually a way.
Well, here's one idea. Newsletters (like this one) can be useful. All clubs should have one that's useful to members. I know of several that do, like Lupin, Laguna del Sol, and Sunsport Gardens. Probably many more. But mainly they just announce club events. It would be a good thing to have news and opinion articles too. They could certainly use Substack, since it allows feedback, which simulates member involvement. And not only members could contribute. I wouldn't mind writing articles on relevant topics if asked.
I'd venture to say that naturist clubs and organizations should do more to get their members involved and communicating with each other - even non-members too. By far the best way to get naturists more active in defending naturism (IMHO) is for them to get to know each other better. For people who know something about the history of the American Revolution (you know, 1776 and all that), there's the idea of "committees of correspondence" (Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committees_of_correspondence). The idea for folks who wanted to plan achieving independence from England was to use snail mail to circulate plans and ideas, even though it was inconvenient to meet in person (and dangerous, too). The same technique could be used now to suggest ways to stimulate participation in naturist activities, promote naturism, deal with legal issues, or whatever. This could be one of the best ways to recruit "volunteers".
Of course, Zoom meetings could also do this sort of thing. That would have many advantages, but also a few drawbacks (people needing to participate at specific times).
Absolutely. The nudism movement was also established on similar communication. If you can ever spend a day in a nudist library you could peruse hundreds from clubs and regions over years. Recently most have gone online in some form, but usually one that is not archivable or does not allow comments, or, to your point, just involves pickle ball news. I think the answer is a mix of newsletters like yours and mine, and zoom or similar technologies. It’s in collaboration and our efforts to work together.
I think it's especially important that you write, "We must see naturism and nudity not just as recreational activities but as a social movement advocating for basic human rights."
It feels like part of the trend away from robust volunteerism is a shift toward more commercialization of nude recreation—many people view a visit to a nudist club as more of a transaction (i.e., a payment for a service) than as joining a community and movement. Some amount of that is fine (and helpful, in terms of generating revenue). Not everyone wants to, or should be expected to, become a super-volunteer. But clearly the current balance isn't sufficient to sustain the enterprise.
To be fair, I don't think that's a problem inherent to nudism. As participation in civic institutions erodes in society more broadly, I think our "volunteerism muscles" start to atrophy, so to speak. It's a tough challenge, but one we've got to work. I'll take this as a call to step up my own game!
Yes, by all accounts volunteerism is down across the board. A google search yields many other results like this one: https://www.usnews.com/news/business/articles/2023-04-11/localize-it-volunteerism-decline-straining-local-nonprofits
Someone that I know who coordinates volunteering in other fields tells me that volunteer numbers have stayed well below the pre-Covid numbers since lockdowns were relaxed here in the UK. I guess its similar in nudist circles.
As the Friends of Hanlans campaign proves there are definitely worthwhile outcomes to be achieved through nudists getting together to further the cause(s). As much of this work will likely have been done on a voluntary basis
https://www.planetnude.co/p/nude-revival-torontos-hanlans-point
It’s so true! None of this gets done without volunteers
Great comment. I agree that naturism, as a social movement, is increasingly important for the idea and practice to survive. In an era where some groups are active in suppressing ideas, banning books and art, and restricting the expansion of rights for various groups, naturism is also under threat and we must be advocating for the concept as a basic human right.
Very well said & is very true status. I live in India. Here local laws are very rigid & against out of home naturism. No official organisation as such for Indian naturists. There may be local groups, however all are unorganized & there is no definite way to access these groups either to check it's genuineness & further to join. Overall the naturism situation here is very gloomy.. You may please guide as to how to proceed to have formal organization who can work for interest of the genuine naturists.
Very good and necessary call to all nudists and naturist. Thanks.