(Undated)– New data on volunteering in the U-S from the independent government agency AmeriCorps shows the pandemic cut deeply into the amount of time people give to charitable causes, including in Iowa. AmeriCorps works with the Census Bureau every other year to track volunteer efforts. Iowa still remains in the top half of states where residents pitch in to help others, according to the latest research. But Michelle Raymer with Volunteer Iowa says the pandemic sent the overall number of volunteers down sharply, at a critical time…
Raymer says in addition to creating a statewide volunteer database, Iowa is increasing outreach efforts to encourage people to donate their time, as well as increasing training for nonprofit groups to recruit more volunteers.
While the number of volunteers dropped more than 10-percent in the state, Raymer says Iowans are still doing a lot of what the report calls “informal helping out” – shoveling snow from the neighbor’s driveway, getting groceries for someone who’s homebound, reading to kids or just spending time with somebody who needs company. She says Iowa remains in the top ten states in that category, and reminds people the benefits of volunteering go both ways…
The AmeriCorps report says more than 60-million Americans formally volunteered with organizations in 2020 and 2021, a number that more than doubled when counting those helping their neighbors or community without a group affiliation.
(Courtesy Iowa News Service)
