7/28/2008
Charleston, W.Va. - Today, the Corporation for National and Community Service released its annual
Volunteering in America Report which looks at volunteering trends across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 50 large and 75 mid-sized cities.
West Virginia’s Rankings and Information:
West Virginia ranked 15th for its average of 42 volunteer hours per capita per year, and ranked 37th for its average volunteer rank of 35.6 percent. More than 375,000 volunteers gave 61.2 million hours of service each year.
Charleston ranked 26th among mid-size cities for volunteer rates, with 33.2 percent of the Charleston area residents volunteer. They also ranked 9th for volunteer hours per capita per year, with an average of 51.5.
West Virginia also benefited from the intensive service of more than 9,200 people of all ages and backgrounds who are helping to meet local needs, strengthen communities, and increase civic engagement through 44 national service projects across the state. Serving through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America, these citizens tutor and mentor children, coordinate after-school programs, build homes, conduct neighborhood patrols, restore the environment, respond to disasters, build nonprofit capacity and recruit and manage volunteers. This year, the Corporation for National and Community Service will commit more than $10.6 million to support national service programs in West Virginia communities.
Financial Impact of Volunteering in West Virginia:
On average (between 2005-2007), residents of West Virginia annually contributed almost 61,175,000 hours of volunteer service totaling over $1.1 billion ($1,193,516,056) of service. Of this total, Charleston contributed almost 13,283,000 hours on average, accounting for service valued at $259,149,000 for 2007. These figures are based on the Independent Sector’s annual estimation of the dollar value of a volunteer hour for 2007, which is currently $19.51.
Volunteering In America Study Information:
Based on data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau, this report presents an overview of formal volunteering at both the national and regional levels, as well as state and city rankings determined by volunteering indicators such as volunteering rate, intensity of volunteering, total hours donated, the types of activities volunteers perform, the types of organizations where people volunteer, and civic engagement. All volunteer rankings are based on a three-year average (using data from 2005-2007).
Attached you will find information on state trends that offers information on the number of people volunteering, the volunteering rate, the number of hours volunteered, total hours donated per year, the types of activities volunteers perform, the types of organizations where people volunteer and civic engagement.
VolunteeringInAmerica.gov:
As noted above, the Volunteering In America profile data is available online in an easy-to-use, interactive Web tool. When you visit VolunteeringInAmerica.gov, you can test your volunteering knowledge, learn about other states and cities and their volunteering habits, as well as seek out volunteer opportunities in your state or city. This comprehensive Web tool was launched today by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
For more information, please contact Kim Barber Tieman, executive director of the West Virginia Commission on National and Community Service, at (304) 558-0111 or Kathleen Roedersheimer, state program director of the Corporation for National and Community Service State Office at (304) 347-5246. Visit www.volunteerwv.org for more information on volunteerism in West Virginia.
Contact Information
Kim Barber Tieman
304-558-0111