American Volunteering Efforts Continue to Increase

64.5 million; that is the total number of Americans who contributed almost 7.9 billion hours of their time to volunteering in the past year. These findings come from the latest annual "Volunteering and Civic Life in America" study conducted by The Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship.

This year's overall number of volunteers total exceeds last year's 64.3 million volunteers, and the study values this year's volunteer service at $175 billion ($22.14 an hour).

Here are other interesting findings from the study:

• More than 25 percent of adults volunteered through a nonprofit organization.
• Americans 65 and older donated almost twice as many hours per volunteer than the population as a whole with a median of 90 volunteer hours.
• The median number of volunteer hours for the general population was 50.
• Generation X (those born between 1965 and 1981) had the highest volunteer rate.
• Volunteering among teenagers has increased by 3 percent in the past five years.
• Volunteers are twice as likely to donate to charity with almost 80 percent doing so.
• More than half of all Americans donated at least $25 to charity in 2012.

These are encouraging numbers for someone who has founded two nonprofit organizations and relies on the work and donations of volunteers. I am always glad to see that more Americans are giving back in terms of their time and their financial resources. No matter how much time or how many resources you have, there is always a way you can contribute, and your contribution will make a huge impact in the lives of others.

If you volunteered somewhere in the past year, I'd love to hear about your experience in the comments below.

Blessings,

Jeff Rutt