Giving back

Having recently worked on a small effort for the block club, I was thinking more about volunteering in general. From the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), I  learned some facts that impressed me.

Overall, in Minnesota in 2011:

  • 38.0% of residents volunteer, ranking them 4th among the 50 states and Washington, DC.

  • 41.5 volunteer hours per resident.

  • 71.3% do favors for their neighbors.

  • 1.58 million volunteers.

  • 171.8 million hours of service.

  • $3.7 billion of service contributed

Volunteering can benefit both your community and you (CNCS info, World Volunteer Web article). If you have thought about volunteering, here are resources that may help. You don’t have to have a lot of time to provide a lot of value!

Find a volunteer opportunity:

For business owners:

  • Sparked – connects employees’ skills to an organization’s need on specific projects (micro-volunteering)

Learn about how effective various charities are:

Barbara Jean Conti