Why Volunteerism Matters

There are all kinds of reasons to volunteer. Some of them are the ones you might expect, such as helping out a cause that's important to you or "giving back" to the community in which you live. You could be part of making Kansas the number-one volunteer state in the country. What you might not know is that volunteering is really good for you too, in a lot of ways.

According to a 2004 study by Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, volunteers can improve physical health, social activity and cognitive abilities, while helping others. Another report by the Corporation for National and Community Service (http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/07_0506_hbr.pdf) states that volunteers who contribute a considerable amount of time—more than 100 hours per year—are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes.

Many Causes, One Goal

Volunteer Kansas was founded with the goal of Kansas helping Kansas. Along the way, we would like to make Kansas the number-one state in the nation for volunteerism. We want to achieve this goal within the next three to five years. What does this mean, exactly? Well, Kansas currently has more than 700,000 volunteers age 16 years or older, placing us eighth among all states in volunteerism. In order to become the number-one state for volunteerism, we need about 70,000 more volunteers. We invite you to join us!

Trends and Highlights Based on single year data (2009)

• Despite the economic crisis, the national volunteer rate went up to 26.8 percent in 2009, with 63.4 million volunteers donating approximately 8.1 billion hours of service in communities across the country.
• In 2009, approximately 755,000 volunteers in Kansas contributed 87.8 million hours of service.
• In Kansas, more than 10,000 people participate in national service each year through 61 national service projects and programs. This year, the Corporation for National and Community Service will commit more than $7,700,000 to support the national service initiatives (Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and other programs) in Kansas.