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NATIONAL TRENDS
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics latest study on volunteering, during the time frame of September 2004 - September 2005, over 64 million Americans volunteered their time - nearly 29% of the U.S. population.
Gender Based Patterns
About 24% of men and 33% of women did volunteer work, about the same proportions in the previous year. Women volunteered at higher rates than men across age groups, education levels and other major characteristics.
Volunteer Rate By Age
| Teenagers | 30.4% |
| Early Twenties-34 | 19.5% |
| 35-44 year olds | 34.5% |
| 45-54 year olds | 32% |
| 55-64 year olds | 30% |
| 65+ | 24.8% |
Among the age groups, volunteers aged 65+ devoted the most time, a median of 96 hours, while those aged 25-34 spent the least time, volunteering a median of 36 hours during the year.
Social Characteristics
Parental Status
Parents with children under age 18 were more likely to volunteer than persons with no children of that age, with volunteer rates of 36.9% and 25.4%, respectively.
Among volunteers with children under age 18, 47% of mothers and 37.8% of fathers volunteered mainly for an educational/youth-service organization.
Marital Status
| For those that are married | 34.1% |
| Never Married | 23% |
| Other Marital Statuses | 23% |
Volunteer Rate By Education Level or Employment
Education: Among persons 25 years of age and over, the volunteer rates for those with at least some college education or a bachelor's degree or better rose over the year, while the rates for those whose education had not gone beyond high school graduation remained about the same. Individuals with higher educations were more likely to volunteer for multiple organizations than were those with less education.
Employment
| Employed Persons | 31.3% |
| Unemployed Persons | 29.8% |
Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities.
| Employed Part-time | 38.2% |
| Employed Full-time | 29.8% |
Volunteer Rates By Organization & Activity
Volunteer Rates By Type Of Organization
Higher volunteer rates are noted for religious organizations or educational/youth-service related groups. The distribution below is largely the same as in the previous two years and highlights the Human Services/Healthcare sector as having the lowest percentage of Americans who choose to volunteer.
| Religious organizations | 34.8% |
| Educational/youth-service related | 26.2% |
| Social or Community Service | 11.8% |
| Health Care | 8.2% |
Volunteer Rates By Activity
| Fundraising | 29.7% |
| Coaching/Tutoring | 21.3% |
| Collecting/Distributing Food | 26.3% |
Usher/Greeter/Minister
(Classified as those who provide information) | 22.5% |
Reasons For Not Volunteering
Lack of time was the most common reason for all groups except those 65+, who reported health issues as the primary reason for not volunteering.
| Lack of Time | 45.6% |
| Health/Medical Problems | 15.2% |
| Family Responsibility | 9.1% |
VNSNY TRENDS
Volunteer Rate By Age
| Teenagers | 27% |
| Early Twenties-34 | 9% |
| 35-44 year olds | 10% |
| 45-54 year olds | 12% |
| 55-64 year olds | 18% |
| 65+ | 24% |
Volunteer Rate By Gender
Females continue to outnumber male volunteers, at VNSNY and across the country.
Volunteer Rates By Activity
| Fundraising | 9% |
| Patient Support | 28% |
| Special Events | 11% |
| Office Based Assignments | 52% |
* Volunteer tenure ranges from 3 months to 50+ years!
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