Volunteering in America, 2010; National, State, and City Information. Issue Brief

摘要

The economic crisis continues to test the nations ability to support vulnerable populations and build a more secure economic future. Leaders across the nation are responding by rallying Americans to use service as a solution in addressing these challenges. As stated by President Obama, Economic recovery is as much about what youre doing in your communities as what were doing in Washington and its going to take all of us, working together. There are many challenges that face our nation, including, for example, the 14.1 million children living in poverty, the 3.5 million Americans with no place to live, and the 700,000 prisoners released from federal and state jurisdiction annually. Volunteers are helping individuals in need by mentoring youth to help them stay in school; serving food at their local church or shelter; providing job training and employment counseling; and contributing to many other critical services. Through service, volunteers are supporting the vulnerable populations hit hardest by the economy and helping to create a stronger, more stable future. In 2009, 63.4 million Americans volunteered to help their communities. This is an additional 1.6 million volunteers compared to 2008, making 2009 the largest single-year increase in the number of volunteers since 2003. Volunteers also provided 8.1 billion hours of service in 2009, which has an estimated dollar value of 169 billion. As the economic crisis affected many individuals personally and sent shockwaves across the country, Americans reached out to help through service. To further understanding about volunteer trends, the Corporation for National and Community Service (the Corporation) is pleased to release Volunteering in America 2010, the most comprehensive source of volunteering information assembled. Volunteers are defined as adults ages 16 years and older who performed unpaid volunteer activities for or through an organization. Volunteering is just one of the ways Americans come together to address the challenges facing their communities, and while the data do not reflect all types of contributions made by community members, it does reflect a vital component of community engagement. This Issue Brief provides key findings using the most recent annual data, collected in September 2009.