05/13/2026
Volunteer Organizations & Burnout: The Conversation We Need to Have
by Raina Moss
Want to know why clubs are struggling to keep volunteers, workers, and the next generation? Start by looking at how we treat the people who actually step up.
As someone who has poured thousands of hours into this sport āoften behind the scenes, often without recognitionā and the clubs and communities I care about, I think I know part of the answer.
Too often, the very people doing the work are the ones being pushed out.
We say we want new people. We say we want younger people. We say we want the next generation to step up. But when people show up and do the work, we punish them for it.
Iāve experienced what it feels like to have your work minimized, your intentions questioned, and your efforts picked apart by people in positions of power who smile in public while tearing you down behind closed doors. And Iāve watched it happen to others, too.
Iāve seen people carry major event weekends that brought in thousands of dollars for their clubsāafter months of planning, recruiting, promoting, problem-solving, and showing upāonly to be met with suspicion, accusations, retroactive criticism, and armchair leadership after the hard work was already done.
It happened before me. It happened to me. And then it happened again to someone else.
At some point, we have to ask why we keep attacking the very people doing the work.
Too often, leadership hides behind weaponized incompetence: āWe didnāt help because no one asked us directly.ā
But leadership should not need a personal invitation to lead, to show up, to step in when an unexpected problem arises, or to help.
Many newer and younger people are volunteering while working full-time jobs, building lives, and still choosing to give their limited free time to clubs and breeds they care about.
They are not doing it because they have endless time. They are doing it because they care.
And when they finally say they are burning out, too often the response is for others to blame their job, their schedule, or their lack of time.
But the truth is, the people keeping clubs alive are not burning out from the workload. They are burning out from the people. They are burning out from the toxic leadership, criticism, suspicion, and the emotional weight of trying to shield newer people from the same toxic behaviors that nearly pushed them out, too.
Eventually, the people actually doing the work stop showing upānot because they stopped caring, but because they got tired of being punished for caring so much.
And that should concern all of us.
Because when politics, ego, and toxic leadership push out the people actually doing the work, clubs do not just lose volunteers.
They lose experience.
They lose trust.
They lose momentum.
They lose their future.
We do not need toxic leadership. We do not need people abusing their roles or positions of power to settle personal scores, silence people they dislike, or make volunteers feel disposable.
We need clubs that welcome new ideas instead of punishing people for having them. We need clubs that are thankful for their volunteers and the work they do.
The future of purebred dogs will not be saved by gatekeeping. It will be saved by education, open doors, honest conversations, and experienced people willing to break down walls instead of building them higher.
We have to create spaces where new people can ask questions, learn, make mistakes, and still feel like they belong.
So what can YOU do?
If you hold a title, earn it.
Support the people doing the work. Thank them. Protect them.
Do not sit back while others carry the load and then criticize from the sidelines.
Do not hide behind āI wasnāt asked.ā
Do not use a title as a shield for inaction or a weapon against the people doing the work.
Lead.
And while some people may question my motives as a young, successful breeder, minimize my work, or call it self-promotion, I will keep showing up.
I will keep volunteering.
I will keep building.
I will keep doing the behind-the-scenes work.
Because I care about purebred dogs.
And because our breeds deserve communities strong enough to protect their future.
Take a moment to ask yourself:
Are you helping carry the loadā¦ or just commenting on the people who do?
Iāll get off my soapbox now.
If youāve seen this happen in your breed, your club, or your sportā¦ what do you think needs to change?
What could clubs do better to keep volunteers, workers, and the next generation involved?
