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Entry bubble Volunteering on the Rise

By: Colleen | July 29, 2009 | Category: Home and Family

My generation gets a bad rap. You know- us twenty-somethings: lazy, selfish, and never quite working up to our potential.

To some extent I have to agree at least a little bit. After all, I have witnesses day-long marathons of "Grand Theft Auto" and have friends who would rather drive around a parking lot for 20 minutes than have to walk from a space in the back.

However, I was thrilled to read that not only is volunteerism on the rise in this country, but the biggest increase was among young adults- those 16-24 years old. This group saw a 6% increase in the past year, from 7.8 to 8.2 million.

During an economic downturn it's rare to see a rise in volunteerism, and while charitable giving was down, 61.8 million people donated their time to charitable causes- a million more than last year.

Do you think this says something about the American people as a whole? I'm hoping this is a reflection of people caring for their neighbors and less fortunate during shaky economic times.

Do you want to get involved? There are plenty of websites to help you find a cause that interests you and fits your schedule.

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Comments (2):

blue comment bubble Posted by Nick Norris on July 29, 2009 at 01:42 PM EDT

I think with the way our country is going, all we can do is smile and be proud of ourselves. Volunteerism, going green, and health care are all being embraced by the cast majority of the population. I actively volunteer, and I know a lot of other people who do as well, and the number is always growing.

I think it's the mentality of "you don't know what you got until someone takes it away" is the mentality of most people these days. And with millions of Americans losing almost everything, volunteerism is a great way to feel good about yourself in a non-selfish way.

Nice!

A good place to find resources on recycling and what you can do to help our environment is:
http://1800recycling.com

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blue comment bubble Posted by Christina Bowen on July 29, 2009 at 04:43 PM EDT

I have 15 and 17 year old daughters that truly embrace volunteerism. While I'd like to think that they are adopting their parents values (my husband and I both volunteer) I believe it can be attributed to being an adolescent during a very exciting and controversial presidential election (that raised visibility about very complicated social issues) and the access that they have to information via the internet. They give me reason to feel optimistic about their future.

- Christina

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