Arizona is 44th out of 50

I think it's the same old story, unfortunately - a lack of time.
Speaking of volunteering, St. Vincent de Paul has a great program for families. Here's the link:
http://www.stvincentdepaul.net/volunteer-HeartsHandDay.htm

Susie is a discussion leader in the east valley for arizonamoms.com. She has two sons, ages 7 and 3.

well - without knowing the source of the data this is based on and how it was gathered, it's hard to say. It could be that this isn't really comprehensive. It's also possible that there are many volunteer hours that aren't tracked or reported.....locally based initiatives, etc.
I think it's unfair to make the assertion that only a quarter of us do "anything" to help others.......when you dont know for sure what people are and are not doing, and in what way they are helping. Some people partcipate in volunteer events through their employers, some people contribute financially, some people volunteer through their churches or schools. Maybe not all of that is being tracked in this PDF document.
Anyway, the point of doing volunteer work is to help others, not call attention to what you are doing to gain praise, right?

I think that you have to look at our demographics, too. We have such a large proportion of poor people in this state, many of whom are working two jobs just to stay afloat. I would be willing to bet the bottom states on that list are generally poor, too.

I think a lot of it has to do with time...

I don't voluteer, I have a husband, 2 kids full time and 3 step kids every other weekend. Not to mention a job that I spend approximately 45 hours a week at and an extra hour each day on drive time. Then of course there is my household duties of cooking, cleaning, and shopping.

I guess that sums up my excuse...HOWEVER, I do donate a lot to charitable organizations throughout the year, do the "Angel Tree" every year at Christmas time, and have purchased turkeys and other food items at Thanksgiving. Time isn't something I have to give up, but I still think I do my share to help out!

"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."

When I was a teen I would always try to interject sparkling comments in conversations with my dad. I would say, "they say... (insert data here) and his response was always the same. "Who's 'They'?" I always wonder how this data is collected and by whom. I volunteer at church and at my kids schools and everyday I see two types of parents - those who wish they didn't need full-time jobs to make ends meet - and those who don't even know the name of their child's teacher.
Sad but true in both cases.

sure, fine, whatever

Sorry I didn't point out the .gov part of the website. The "They" here is the U.S. Government, so the source should be pretty reliable. I don't think we can use bad source as an excuse unfortunately...

Lovemy4 is a discussion leader for North Central Phoenix, tired mother of 4 great kids and wife to one great husband.

I agree time and community roots are influences, but I also think that those who volunteer may not seek recognition for it in "official" ways--volunteering and knowing they're doing something is enough, whether or not it "counts."

I do want to raise a related issue with the types of volunteerism that people gravitate toward, as well. Schools are a biggie for me. For instance, at some PTA/PTSA meetings, it's been clear in several places I've been that the people acting as officers/ambassadors because they are committed to their children's success don't go far (or at all) out of their way to welcome or encourage new volunteers or meeker parents to get involved. In fact, the overtly hostile "we have to do everything, and those other parents don't do anything" attitude has, in the case of one school I'm thinking of, done more to shrink volunteer inclinations in the community than grow them. It may even make people feel like what they think and want doesn't matter, so why show up? (Think voter turnout if you need a parallel).

It's especially of concern to me because volunteerism feeds and grows itself when it's positive, and first impressions matter. It's clear that negative experience can be very discouraging for people who are pressed for time in the first place, make effort to show up, and then feel essentially ignored, put down, and/or turned off. It's just something to think about; every opportunity can be influenced by the people involved.

I'm just grateful for those who do volunteer, and though I do what I can, I would love to do more myself. Time is an issue, but it's worth making because the community-building payback is so huge.

I think you've raised an interesting question. I also think that we need to take this data with a grain of salt. It comes from the Corporation for National and Community Service, of which Americorps and Senior Corps are a part.

For one thing, AZ is still such a relatively new state. There is so much volunteering that is happening in every nook and cranny of the state every minute of the day that is not being identified by this source. I know this because I spent five years writing for the AZ Republic on volunteers and non-profits. I created a column called Volunteer Hero that ended up being the longest running feature column in the history of the paper, running for nearly 3 years. There are several different volunteering groups in our state, from Make A Difference to Americorps. They each have their own way of tracking volunteers, and for the most part the tracking isn't all that accurate.

There are countless charity groups and individuals out there who are helping their neighbors and do not officially report in to an entity about what they're doing and how much they're doing. Again, I believe this is partly due to the fact that we are such a young state and we have such an influx of new residents that is constantly changing our demographics.

So, in a nutshell, I wouldn't at all be disheartened by this report coming from just one volunteering entity. And no matter how busy you are, you can ALWAYS find the time to volunteer in some way, for some amount of time. It simply depends on your priorities. For me, I think volunteering is not only an important part of my life, it's also an important part of my kids' upbringing, just as important as spending time with them on their homework. (And I say this as a single working mom of three who has a three-hour commute to and from work everyday.) There's no excuse not to give back to your community.

DesertMom
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com

"We have such a large proportion of poor people in this state"

... wow. LOL

I joined this site yesterday and so far I have seen someone asking "why people get divorced?", like knowing someone that getting divorced will give you leprosy, someone saying that working moms usually cannot join playdates because there are none to fit around their schedules.... come on ladies, you have to be smart enough to work around that... what happened to hospitality? And now, MollyDonnelly says that no one volunteers because everyone in Arizona is poor. I never thought I would ever see so many shallow, judgmental people in one place.

No one volunteers because no one cares. There is no faith left in America. However, I can't imagine someone with the depth of a Frisbee figuring that out.

I don't think it could possibly be a result of a lack of time given that Arizona probably has more retirees than many of the other locations.

Personally I believe it is because we are so disconnected here. There are very few things that seem to glue us together as a society compared to other places.