Volunteering or recreating?

When you commit to working on a community theatre production, are you volunteering or recreating?
We don't generally expect that volunteers should have to pay for the privilege of donating their efforts to the community.
On the other hand, as the user-pays principle permeates every facet of our society, recreation has been commoditised and we're paying more and more for it.
How would you counter an argument that community theatre companies are providing recreation opportunities not volunteer services and as such members should be paying fees commensurate with membership of a health club?
Cheers
Grant