Volunteerism in America

Volunteerism in America is alive and well. In fact, more than 60 million volunteers gave their time and talents last year by putting in more than eight billion man hours. It has been said that Americans volunteer more time and have a larger percentage of their population volunteering than any other country.

Disaster relief is a major area of Volunteerism in America.

Living in Utah? One in two people volunteers in Utah. Therefore it's no wonder that Provo, Utah has the most volunteers as well. A few other cities in the US score high when it comes to the percentage of population that volunteers:

• Provo--63.8%
• Iowa City--45.1%
• Madison--42.3%
• Ogden--41%
• Greenville--41%
• Minneapolis--39.3%
• Salt Lake City--37.2%
• Portland--35.6%
• Seattle--35.5%
• Austin--35.3%

If you want to live somewhere, where volunteerism is alive and well, check out the Midwest where they dedicate over 2 million hours on average each year to volunteer activities.

How has the economy, the war, and other current events change the face of volunteering? As society changes so does volunteering and there are several trends to watch:

They say 60 is the new 30. . .or something like that but no one thinks of a 60 year old as too old for service. You'll find the newly (and not so newly) retired population volunteering in a variety of capacities which makes the volunteer labor force, highly experienced!

Another trend in volunteering is the opportunity to volunteer online. All sorts of opportunities abound--from writing useful information, to moderating discussion forums, to organizations that help with internet safety and anti-terrorism. The world is much smaller with the internet and the opportunities are a lot more profuse.

People who are stretched for time find that taking a vacation but doing some volunteer work while relaxing can be a great thing. This is ideal for families who want to volunteer with their children. You can spend time cleaning beaches, counting animal populations or just about anything else.

Global climate change, conservation and reducing wasted resources is a definite concern on the horizon. This is reflected in volunteering efforts as more and more people seek to volunteer their time doing something positive for the environment.

Americans have always rallied together and dealing with disasters has been at the forefront of volunteerism in America. However, with hurricane Katrina came a new onslaught of volunteers that would give themselves to helping with disaster relief. With disaster relief also comes long distance volunteering--a growing trend in volunteerism.

As headlines decry the state of American education, there are plenty of volunteers who step up to the plate and help by tutoring, teaching or mentoring young people. In fact, it is working with kids that is the most common volunteer activity among college students.

Volunteerism as a movement responds to the events of our history as well as our changing dynamic as a culture. You can continue to expect to see the internet play an increasingly large role in both helping volunteers find positions and in promoting volunteer opportunities. Will this generation follow the example of the one before them?

• Tracking Charitable Donations for Taxes
• Fundraising Strategic Plan
• Request for Donation Letters

• List of Nonprofit Organizations
• Furniture Donation Pick Up
• Sample Letters Asking for Donations
• Samples of Non Profit Fundraising Letters
• Samples of Thank You Letter for Donations

• Volunteer Appreciation Poem
• Volunteers in Service to America
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• Examples of Volunteerism
• Importance of Volunteerism