If you live in Minneapolis, Salt Lake City or Austin, you're more likely to volunteer in your community than if you live in other metro areas, says a report out today by the Corporation for National and Community Service.It's not that people in those cities are necessarily kinder or gentler. They just have the right circumstances for volunteering: They feel connected to their communities, have more education, own their own homes, spend less time commuting and have more opportunities to give back, the report says.
Middle America volunteers most, survey finds
For instance, 70% of Minneapolis-area families own their own homes. It had the highest overall volunteer rate at 40.5%, says the report. By contrast, Honolulu, where only 49% own homes, ranked 42nd with a 23.3% rate of volunteering.
And New York City where the vast majority of people rent? We came in at #48, with an 18.7% rate of volunteering.
City Lags in Volunteerism, Study Finds
"New Yorkers spend less time in their neighborhood; they have less time with their kids..."
Like many other American cities, New York suffers from a "leaky bucket," failing to retain 42% of its volunteers from year-to-year...
When you live in a community that's seen as a temporary stop on the way to somewhere better, send your kids to crappy schools and spend half your time getting back and forth to work, then what's the point?
15 comments:
I love your highly flawed cause and effect.
Rather than assuming that those who rent are less likely to volunteer, which simply betrays your own prejudices--others would say that New Yorkers volunteer less simply because more are career focused and have less disposable hours to volunteer, which was my case until a few years ago when my workload declined.
Actually, Brainiac, it's what the study says. I just happen to agree with it.
I think the first poster is Pinky. Now he volunteers his time to attack real volunteers. This happened right after he was re-elected and he had more time, being a lame duck and all.
If everyone just blogged all day like certain MV civic board members from Chateau Mom and didn't do much productive, income-generating work, then we'd have close to a 100% volunteer rate in NYC.
Got to love QC's defination of volunteering. Sister, annoying your neighbors is not volunteer work.
BTW, this isn't Pinky, it's one of the myriad of others who live in MV who disapprove of your behavior.
This isn't Pinky? You certainly spell like him. I don't see a myriad of people from Middle Village disapproving with my behavior. Now Pinky's behavior is another story. I wonder if he ever paid that hard-working hardware store owner who VOLUNTEERED supplies for graffiti cleanup. And watch who you're calling sister, brother!
"If everyone just blogged all day like certain MV civic board members from Chateau Mom and didn't do much productive, income-generating work, then we'd have close to a 100% volunteer rate in NYC."
Please don't talk about the Middle Village Maspeth Civic Association that way.
"Now he volunteers his time to attack real volunteers."
Hell no, anonymous! He does so while at work ON OUR TIME.
As someone who is privileged enough to know both the Crapper and Pinky, I can tell you with certainty that the 3rd anonymous comment is definitely Pinky or someone in his inner circle as evidenced by not only the tone of the comment but also the fact that every sentence contains false information.
Ok i don't know what the people here are talking about, Pinkly and all. but I do know that people don't seem to hand property down from generation to generation anymore. the kids always take the money and run, and that's part of the reason why there is no incentive to volunteer.
Pinky, what do you volunteer to do without compensation of any kind?
It seems you spend far too much of our money and time and city resources attacking actual unpaid citizen volunteers in this community.
Are you able to control yourself and stop?
You know, you really sound like a stalker, referring to a person you believe is a woman. This would seem to me to be a police matter. Perhaps an arrest for sexual harassment would be appropriate right now.
For all we know right now, you're just another felony rapist.
For those of us who must work endlessly to pay for our homes and bills, there are weekends. As liberal as New York appears, we have plenty of churches, mosques, and temples that give us opportunities for volunteering.
These holy places create friendships, build communities, and give meaning to our lives.
We may not attend community board meetings, protests, or elections, but our temples give us a place to enrich our lives.
As someone who has volunteered quite a bit the last four years for a local chapter of an international non-profit organization, I can tell you that the major thing that makes it so difficult is a lack of support from local community leaders.
If a local politician doesn't want to lend a hand to support the cause, you can forget about gaining community support, which makes it kind of difficult to keep things going.
The organization I volunteer for is a non proft organization that supports local mother's and children. I can tell you time and time again how our organization was ignored by our local leaders when we asked for support on our many community service projects. And by support, I don't mean $$$ - I mean help with getting the word out about the work we are doing.
Other chapter's of our organization outside of the NYC area don't have the same problems, because their community behind them in many ways.
Hey..."mazeartist"
For your info I work and worship just as hard as you do and still find the time to volunteer in my community and I'm pushing 70 years old !
My community is where I live. I make it my business to find the time you panty-waist slacker!
Most New York's would rather write a than volunteer to "work" for an organization.
"Most New York's would rather write a than volunteer to "work" for an organization."
CORRECTION:
Most New York's would rather write a CHECK than volunteer to "work" for an organization.
Sorry.
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