Volunteerism Falls But Stays Strong Amidst Height of Pandemic in CT, US

AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, has released its Volunteering and Civic Life in America research, the most comprehensive data on American volunteering and civic engagement assembled.

Based on a survey conducted by AmeriCorps and the US Census every other year, the research includes data on volunteering through organizations, informal helping and other civic behaviors.

According to the research, Americans contributed countless hours to their communities through formal and informal volunteerism between September 2020 and 2021 during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearly 51 percent of Americans, or 124.7 million people, informally helped their neighbors at least once during the year. Additionally, more than 23 percent of Americans, or 60.7 million people, formally volunteered with an organization, giving more than 4.1 billion hours of service with an estimated economic value of $122.9 billion.  

In 2021 in Connecticut, 828,410 formal volunteers contributed 50.1 million hours of service through organizations worth an estimated $1.7 billion.  Half of state residents - 50.2% - informally helped others by exchanging favors with their neighbors.  Overall, 61.5% of residents donated $25 or more to charity, and 28.8% of residents formally volunteered through organizations.  More than two-thirds – 70.7% - of residents had a conversation or spent time with their neighbors.

“AmeriCorps’ newly released Volunteering and Civic Life in America research underscores that we are in a defining moment of our time. While we saw the first ever decline in formal volunteering with organizations, we also saw that despite the COVID-19 pandemic’s devastating impact, Americans support to their neighbors remained steady and tens of millions continued serving their communities,” said Michael D. Smith, AmeriCorps CEO.

“Whether volunteering one time or long-term, Americans can make a tremendous difference, and I am more confident than ever before about the power and potential of service to meet the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead,” Smith added.

Through local nonprofit and community-based organizations, Americans are afforded new ways to engage with their communities and foster a sense of constructive action, civic participation and belonging. Volunteers support American schools and shelters, hospitals and hotlines, food banks, and civic, nonprofit, tribal and faith-based organizations across the country, officials point out.

The highest “formal volunteer rate” in the U.S. in 2021, according to the data, was in Utah at 40.7%, followed by Wyoming at 39.2%, Minnesota at 35.5%, Maine at 34.9% and Washington, DC, tied with South Dakota at 34.2%.  In Connecticut, 28.8% of residents formally volunteered through organizations. The formal volunteering rate in Connecticut was 31.4% in 2019.

In “informal helping,” the leading states were Montana (68.8%), Nebraska, Maine, Delaware and Vermont (63.9%).  In Connecticut,  50.2% of residents informally helped others by exchanging favors with their neighbors. Connecticut’s informal helping rate was unchanged in 2021 from 2019, both at 50%.

AmeriCorps officials underscored that during the devastating impact at the height of the pandemic, Americans continued to serve one another and their communities. They helped neighbors by doing favors like watching each other’s children, running errands, and more. Americans also helped their communities by supporting COVID-19 testing and vaccination, conducting wellness checks on isolated seniors, supporting food banks, assisting other public health efforts, and helping students stay on track in school. Although the national rate of volunteering through organizations declined from 2019 to 2021, Americans continued to help each other informally.

Nationally, baby boomers had the highest informal helping rate (59 percent) of all generations.  Veterans helped their neighbors at a rate of 59 percent, eight percentage points higher than non-veterans.  And people with children under 18 informally helped their neighbors at a higher rate (58 percent) than those without children in their household (49 percent).