Can volunteering be the difference-maker in your next interview?
June 18, 2013
NCoC believes that when our citizens are engaged, our communities are stronger and more resilient—and ~1@BODYURL[id=114jbcurl730]@. Exciting new research released today by our colleagues at the Corporation for National and Community Service further illuminates how civic life is a critical pathway to economic opportunity. In 2011 and 2012, together with our partners, NCoC released research showing a strong positive connection between a community’s civic health and its economic vitality. Specifically, we found that a community’s nonprofit density and its social cohesion—the degree to which its residents engage with and trust one another—is a key predictor of the ability to withstand unemployment in a recession. The new study released by CNCS takes our research a step further. It shows that volunteers have a 27 percent higher likelihood of finding a job after being out of work than non-volunteers. These effects are even stronger for those without high school degrees and those who live in rural areas. CNCS also found that volunteering is associated with an increased likelihood of finding employment for all volunteers regardless of a person’s gender, age, ethnicity, geographical area, or the job market conditions. Other key findings include: • Volunteers without a high school diploma have a 51 percent higher likelihood of finding employment • Volunteers living in rural areas have a 55 percent higher likelihood of finding employment These critical new findings underscore the need of all facets of society to create strategies to involve all Americans in civic life: • Researchers need to continue to explore this topic—helping illuminate the connections between civic engagement and economic resilience • Business, government, and nonprofit leaders need to consider how their policies and investments can strengthen social cohesion and provide opportunities for volunteerism • Citizens should join, support, collaborate with and lead volunteer projects and neighborhood efforts in their communities Bolstered by this data, our society can build communities that are civically, socially, and economically vibrant.