by the Statesman Staff, the Idaho Statesman
Over 36 percent of Idahoans volunteered during 2013, the second highest percentage among the states, according to the latest report on volunteerism from the Corporation for National and Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship. Utah ranked at the top of the list with 45 percent of its citizens volunteering. New York was in last place with 20 percent volunteering. Those ranks were unchanged from last year. Idaho rose one place, from third to second. The annual ÒVolunteering and Civic Life in AmericaÓ report found that more than 421,000 Idaho volunteers performed 62.3 million hours of service valued at over $1.4 billion. The rate is the percentage of people 16 or older who performed unpaid volunteer activities through or for an organization, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. In addition to individual volunteerism, the Corporation for National and Community Service has committed more than $5.4 million to support Idaho communities through national service initiatives. Serve Idaho, the GovernorÕs Commission on Service and Volunteerism, is a division of the Idaho Department of Labor. The commission administers Idaho’s AmeriCorps programs, IdahoÕs Promise, the Alliance for Youth and the GovernorÕs Brightest Star Awards and hosts the annual Serve Idaho Conference on Service and Volunteerism. ~1@BODYURL[id=114jbcurl1224]@