Iowa ranks 2nd in America for volunteering

Senate Democratic Research Staffers Erica and Rusty assemble "kitchen kits" for St. Joseph's shelter.

Did you know that Iowa has the second-highest volunteer rate of any state in the country? That’s according to a recent report from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The “Volunteering in America” report shows that 38.7 percent of Iowans devoted their time to helping others in 2009. Plus, Iowans are volunteering even more than in the past, averaging 47 hours annually. That’s 11 hours more than in 2007.

Iowans devoted a total of 109 million hours to volunteering in 2009. Giving that kind of time and talent to local organizations and communities ultimately produces hundreds of millions of dollars in services to Iowa.

For more on the “Volunteering in America” report and Iowa’s ever-growing volunteer trends, go to http://www.volunteeriowa.org.