I have learned several new words and phrases in my short time here that thoroughly highlight the uniqueness of Pender Island and its inhabitants.
Words like “friend-vestment”, a reference one person made to volunteering on an upcoming project with an innate understanding that those being helped would return the favour down the line.
Another is “newbie burnout” – an all-too-common affliction that threatens to overwhelm new Pender residents who start too many new hobbies, join too many clubs, and launch themselves into too many new projects.
But my favourite such word is “voluntold” – a delightful portmanteau I first heard shared between two of Pender’s finest residents.
This couple so frequently steps up when asked for help that one might use voluntold as shorthand to confirm the other’s involvement. “Yes, my partner can help you; I’ll let them know they have volunteered.”
I’ve since learned that voluntold is more commonly used, and can hold a more coercive undertone, than I would have guessed. Perhaps that speaks to the altruistic nature in which I first heard it used here on Pender Island.
Or perhaps I’m just romanticizing a passing comment made at a board meeting. Who’s to say?
These phrases remind me of an excerpt by The Pender Post’s first editor, Edmund Morrison, published in the anthology More Tales from the Outer Gulf Islands – available at the library, bookstore, museum gift shop, Nu-to-Yu (usually) and probably on your bookshelf.
Morrison writes of establishing our constitution and bylaws – with the help of his wife – and paving the way for the non-profit society status we still proudly hold today.
“I was personally very pleased with this outcome because the constitution forbade the payment of any salaries or wages of any sort, but made the work of the society dependent utterly on voluntary contribution of individual time and effort,” Morrison wrote.
“I was privately interested in seeing how long this experiment in public voluntaryism could continue.”
Things have developed over the last half-century. We once served a handful of non-profit clubs and societies, while more than 50 such groups graced our pages in 2025, and Pender’s population has nearly tripled since Morrison’s great experiment in voluntaryism began.
But the mission of The Pender Post Society remains the same: connecting the people and clubs of Pender Island, even if the scope evolves with each new generation. I am honoured to preside over The Pender Post Society as we enter our 55th year of being your community connection.
And to every Pender Islander who has made a friend-vestment, risked newbie burnout, or been voluntold they’re part of some new effort in the community: We appreciate your contributions to life on Pender Island. Thank you, dear reader, for being part of this ongoing conversation.
Matthew Coutts
president@penderpost.org