Volunteer Week: What kind of impact does a volunteer make?
Here are some fun facts from United Way to kick off National Volunteer Week:
- 1. In 2008, 61.8 million Americans (26.4% of the population) contributed 8 billion hours of volunteer service worth an estimated 162 billion dollars.
- 2. The estimated dollar value of volunteer time is $20.25. ( more than I make an hour haha)
- 3. Despite the challenges of a tough economic situation, the volunteering rate held steady between 2007 and 2008, while the number of volunteers slightly increased by about one million.
- 4. Over 441,000 more young adults (age 16-24) volunteered in 2008 than 2007, representing an increase from about 7.8 million to more than 8.2 million.
- 5. Neighborhood engagement levels have risen sharply since 2007, with a 31% increase in the number of people who worked with their neighbors to fix a community problem and a 17 % increase in the number of people who attended community meetings.
- 6. Between September 2008 and March 2009, more than a third (37%) of nonprofit organizations report increasing the number of volunteers they use, and almost half (48%) foresee increasing their usage of volunteers in the coming year.
- 7. Volunteers were much more likely than non-volunteers to donate to a charitable cause in 2008, with 78.2 percent contributing $25 or more compared to 38.5 percent of non-volunteers.
- 8. Non-volunteers say that they are more likely to serve if a trusted friend asks them to serve.
- 9. About 8.24 million young people ages 16-24 volunteered in 2008, over 441,000 more than in 2007.This increase in young adult volunteers makes up almost half of the overall increase in the number of volunteers nationally.
- 10. Adults who began volunteering as youth are twice as likely to volunteer as those who did not volunteer when they were younger.
I believe in volunteering as a way to share our individual gifts for a greater good. Why do you volunteer?
-Alex Petersen
