Valley ranks low in U.S. for volunteerism

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — A national study has ranked the Youngstown Metropolitan Statistical Area, with an average volunteer rate of 21.2 percent, 71st among 75 midsize metropolitan areas surveyed.

The Youngstown MSA includes Trumbull and Mahoning counties in Ohio and Mercer County in Pennsylvania.

According to the survey, which looked at the years 2005-07, the Youngstown MSA had an average of 94,000 volunteers serving 13.5 million hours per year, with each volunteer giving an average of 30.3 hours per year, for a ranking of 57th among midsize MSAs.

Church-related work is considered volunteering, and according to the report, 36.4 percent of Youngstown MSA volunteers do so through a religious organization.

While the volunteering numbers in the Youngstown MSA are low, Corrie Adams, Volunteer Services projects coordinator, said the agency does not gauge volunteerism by numbers alone.

“When we evaluate the success of our volunteer programs, we look as much at the impact on the community as at the numbers,” Adams said.

Ohio’s average volunteer rate of 30.3 percent was 23rd among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the study, which was based on a telephone survey of 60,000 people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as 50 large and 75 midsize cities. The study was produced by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

A weak economy, relatively low levels of education and home ownership, and fewer than average charitable and nonprofit organizations, are major reasons for the low ranking, said Virginia Leskanic, executive director of the Volunteer Services Agency in Youngstown.

VSA helps recruit volunteers for some 300 area organizations.

“If you take those factors into consideration, you will see that the Youngstown area is pretty much an example of those things. We have one-half to one-third the number of nonprofits compared to other similar areas, and lower median household income,” she said.

For the purposes of the report, volunteers are defined as people 16 and older who serve through or with an organization without pay at any point during a 12 month-period between September of one year through September of the following year. Volunteers who are not affiliated with a group were not counted in the study.

“If you look at the number of people surveyed, I don’t think it can give an accurate picture of what’s happening in our community,” Adams said. “It only includes people affiliated with a formal organization, so it leaves a lot of people out.”

Also, said Leskanic, “in our area we find many volunteers are hesitant to report their activities because they think it takes away from what they are doing. Many volunteer because it’s the right thing to do and are not looking for recognition. It’s a private matter for many.”

That being said, Leskanic said the less-than-favorable report has some value because it “helps us recognize we probably have somewhere to go with regard to volunteerism.”

Among the 75 midsize metropolitan areas, Provo, Utah, led the nation with a 63.8 percent volunteer rate, followed by Iowa City, Iowa; Madison, Wis.; Greenville, S.C.; and Ogden, Utah.

For the third year in a row, Utah was the top volunteer state with a volunteer rate of 43.9 percent, followed by Nebraska, Minnesota, Alaska and Montana.

Minneapolis-St. Paul remained No. 1 among large cities at 39.3 percent, with Salt Lake City; Portland, Ore.; Seattle, Wash.; and Austin, Texas, rounding out the top five, according to the study.

According to the report, the Columbus MSA had the best showing in Ohio and ranked sixth among the largest metropolitan areas, with an average volunteer rate of 34.7 percent. Toledo also held its own among midsize metropolitan areas, ranking 11th for its average volunteering rate.

The financial impact of volunteering in Ohio is significant, the report said.

On average (between 2005-2007), residents of Ohio annually contributed more than 316,116,868 hours of volunteer service, which was valued at about $6.1 billion in 2007.

On the national level, 60.8 million or 26.2 percent of Americans age 16 and older volunteered through organizations in 2007. After a 6 percent decline in total volunteers between 2005 and 2006, volunteering levels stabilized in 2007. There were 1 million more volunteers in 2007 than 2002, the survey reported.

“The research shows that volunteering isn’t as much about having the time to volunteer but creating volunteering opportunities that people want to make the time for,” said Dr. Robert Grimm, the Corporation’s director of research and policy.

alcorn@vindy.com