The Surprising Reason for Increased Volunteerism

The number of volunteers in America has increased to 64.3 million according to a report last week from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After declining numbers in 2010, last year had the most volunteers since the recession with 26.8 percent of the population volunteering at least once from September 2010 to September 2011.  While the increase is just a slight jump of .05 percent, experts believe the trend will only continue to improve.   

“I was sort of surprised [by the increase],” said Melissa Gaeke, former executive director of USC’s Volunteer Center. “I would have thought it might have been bigger because [volunteering] allows people to sift into a new job arena and helps them continue to build their network.”

Recent studies have shown the recession can actually help the volunteer sector, mainly because people have more time. 

Wendy Biro-Pollard, an expert in non-profit management, suggests volunteering is a tool for career development, especially when normal jobs are difficult to obtain. 

“Volunteering gives people something to do while job hunting that allows them to feel good about themselves,” wrote Biro-Pollard in an article for Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. “Volunteering is a way to stay active and stay in touch. Hard economic times give people a renewed sense of compassion and a better understanding of how others are struggling.”

Volunteering during recessions can also be beneficial for women, according to a study from WOMENS WAY where 83 percent of participants found volunteerism to be a “cost effective tool for career development.”

The women in the survey reported acquiring leadership, problem solving and communication skills through volunteering that helped with their job hunt. 

But volunteerism can also be a luxury item. So while the highest demographic of volunteers in the labor force are the 33.3 percent of part time employees volunteering, the other significant demographics are white, middle aged women with a college degree or higher. As people have more time to spend, the chance they will volunteer seems to increase. 

"The more discretionary time you have the more able you are to make choices to do that sort of thing," said Gaeke. "The amount of time people have is a determinate for whether they volunteer or not and the recession makes that more challenging... they might have lots of time but they also have lots of need to have real dollars."