From USAToday…
More Americans became engaged in their communities last year as the economy weakened, a federal agency reported Tuesday.“There’s a compassion boom going on,” says Robert Grimm of the Corporation for National & Community Service, which oversees AmeriCorps, Senior Corps and other service programs.
FIND A CHARITY: A comprehensive look at giving in the USA“Instead of people worrying about their own problems,” he says, “they’re thinking of others.”
The number of volunteers increased 2% from 60.8 million in 2007 to 61.8 million in 2008, according to the agency’s 2009 Volunteering In America report, based on annual Census Bureau surveys. Among young adults (16 to 24), the number of volunteers increased 5.7%. On average, 26% of Americans continued to donate their time.
The findings contrast with data from the Giving USA Foundation showing a decline in charitable giving for the first time since 1987.
Two forms of volunteerism jumped sharply: the number of people who worked with neighbors to solve a local problem rose 31% from 2007 to 2008, and the number of people who attended community meetings rose 17% last year.
“This report suggests that Americans are responding to the hardship around them by reaching out in service to others, giving their time when they cannot give their money,” first lady Michelle Obama said in a statement.
More non-profit groups rely on volunteers as 80% report significant economic stress, according to a Johns Hopkins University survey.
Grimm says volunteering helps people develop skills and feel valuable…
Volunteering tends to be highest in midsize cities, particularly in the Midwest.
“We’re at the beginning of a generosity high, a sense that we can make a difference,” says Claire Gaudiani, historian of philanthropy at New York University.
Check volunteering in your state at www.volunteeringinamerica.gov/find.cfm
UPDATE: The Vermont angle… click here.
The urge to build community with those nearby is a strong impule for many people… and lots of folks seem to realize that neighbor connection has declined. Friend Nik just shared this blog post from Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert. He calls it Cheapatopia.
Good for Patrick and Tracy…
The husband-and-wife team of Patrick Sand and Tracy Record run WestSeattleBlog.com. She is the site’s the primary reporter and editor, while he handles advertising sales and business development. Since January 2006, the pair have covered the bedroom community of West Seattle (over 65,000 residents) seven days a week, 365 days a year. They started selling ads about a year later. The site now has about 60 advertisers and brings in enough to support the couple and their teenage son, and to pay for occasional freelancers. Next on the agenda: hiring a Saturday editor so they get a day off. We spoke with Tracy earlier this week.
Read the full story.
Front Porch Forum Raffle Time! Did you know that it’s been 400 years since the first European laid eyes on our fair lake? Help mark the occasion… fill in the two blanks in the following sentence and post it to your FPF neighborhood forum to enter our raffle…
If I had a _________ for every year since Samuel de Champlain first saw Lake Champlain, I’d have _________.
Do it for fun. Do it for your love of our lake. Do it for a chance to win a prize. Or do it to help enliven your FPF neighborhood forum… But do it by July 1! Here are two efforts…
If I had a PENNY for every year since Samuel de Champlain first saw Lake Champlain, I’d have FOUR DOLLARS.
If I had an INCH OF RAIN for every year since Samuel de Champlain first saw Lake Champlain, I’d have OUR WET SUMMER OF 2009.
FPF members… copy and paste the unfinished sentence into a new email message and fill in the two blanks. Email it to [FPFneighborhoodforumname]@frontporchforum.com or post it via the web by going to http://frontporchforum.com/home, logging in, then clicking Post a Message: Using the Web.
Enter (multiple times if you like) on or before July 1, 2009. Act FAST! Bonus points if your entry has something to do with your neighborhood/town. Prizes as follows (one pair of tickets to each of the following events will be awarded):
July 5 – The Roots
July 5/6/7 – Only Drunks & Children Tell the Truth
July 7 – King Sunny Ade
July 8 – Counterpoint
July 9/10/11 – Territoires Feminins
July 11 – Ween
July 12 – Water Music
July 13/14 – Aurelia’s Oratorio
Thanks to our sponsors: Higher Ground, Burlington International Waterfront Festival and Burlington City Arts! Learn more about the Quadricentennial at http://www.celebratechamplain.org
UPDATE: See the eight winners and many of the other entries!
Ghost of Midnight is an online journal about fostering community within neighborhoods, with a special focus on Front Porch Forum (FPF). My wife, Valerie, and I founded FPF in 2006... read more