By Annie Gowen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 9, 2007
Residents of the Washington region volunteer at a rate higher than the national average despite grueling commutes and fast-paced lives, according to a federal study of volunteerism in major metropolitan areas to be released today.
The wide-ranging study by the Corporation for National and Community Service -- the federal agency that administers volunteer programs such as AmeriCorps -- is the first comprehensive look at volunteering rates in cities since the Census Bureau began collecting such data in 2002.
Research found that among the nation's 50 largest metro areas, those with well-educated, affluent homeowners had higher volunteer rates; those with longer commuting times had less participation.
Locally, however, it belied the notion that Washington area residents are becoming more isolated and cut off from civic life as they spend more time in their cars, struggling through the second-longest commutes in the country.
The region has an average annual volunteer rate of 32 percent, compared with 28 percent nationally, the study says. The typical suburban volunteer here logs an average of 60 hours of such work a year, compared with 48 hours for their District-dwelling counterparts or 50 hours nationally.
Although some organizations still struggle to find help, Washington's volunteer rate outpaced citizen involvement in other larger metro areas, such as Chicago, New York and Los Angeles, the study says.
Researchers say that the region's residents volunteer more because they are naturally civic-minded -- many having come here for public service or government jobs -- and well-educated. They're also living in a place that's a "mecca" for nonprofit organizations with philanthropic causes, said David Eisner, the corporation's chief executive.
"There is a deeper civic culture here in Washington," Eisner said. "People are thinking about government and about the responsibilities of citizens in a way that may not be true in other cities across the country."
It makes perfect sense, said Wendy Balazik, 31, an Alexandria resident and association employee who volunteers at two food pantries.
"D.C. attracts the type of person who is passionate about issues. . . . That doesn't just stop when we leave the office," she said.
Stressed-out wonks who spend weekdays buried in briefing books also long to do something in their off hours in which they can see meaningful results right away -- such as making sandwiches for a soup kitchen or tutoring for a literacy program, volunteers say.
More than 60 percent of local residents volunteered through their places of worship, their children's school or youth service organizations such as the Girl Scouts, said Robert Grimm, director of research and policy development for the Corporation for National and Community Service. Slightly fewer residents volunteer through their churches here than nationally -- about 30 percent in the Washington metropolitan area, compared with 35 percent across the country.
The study looked at volunteering trends from 2004 to 2006 among 180,000 households nationwide whose members were interviewed as part of the Census Bureau's current population survey, Grimm said. The study notes that fundraising or selling items to raise money was the top activity for area volunteers; the amount of money collected was not measured.
Even in farther-out suburbs such as Prince William County, many volunteer bureaus are bustling, with high-schoolers competing for the chance to help at the local hospital and recruiters hosting teas to enlist seniors at the many new active-adult communities there.
"You're always going to have a certain population that's just so stressed with the commute and the house and the kids. But on the whole, the number of people looking to volunteer increases each year," said Mary Foley, executive director of the Voluntary Action Center of the Greater Prince William Area. "We're a growing community."
Maryland schools require students to complete volunteer work before graduating, which also helps, said Molly Callaway, operations manager for the Montgomery County Volunteer Center.
Yet gaps remain. A third of the region's population may be volunteering, the study's authors noted, but that means two-thirds aren't.
Bilingual volunteers for tutoring and outreach to the burgeoning Latino community are always in short supply, officials said. Agencies that need volunteers with special training can also suffer. For example, there's a waiting list of 40 children at Fairfax CASA, a nonprofit group that trains people to serve as court-appointed advocates for abused and neglected children.
The group is having a harder time finding volunteers because it is not as well-known as other organizations and requires extensive training and a commitment of as many as five hours a week, said Lynda Williams, CASA's executive director.
Some localities are changing the way they ask for help from busy professionals, who may shy away from volunteering because they can't make a weekly commitment. They have started e-mail lists detailing one-time events that volunteers can fit into crammed schedules.
Eisner suggests that the region's localities work with corporations and local businesses to push for more telecommuting -- to keep workers off the roads and give them more time in their neighborhoods -- and increase workplace volunteer programs.
Early Saturday morning, a line stretched a block long in the hot sun at the Arlington Food Assistance Center in a warehouse in the Shirlington area. The center distributed nearly a million pounds of food to local families last year with the help of volunteers who gave 17,000 of hours of service -- the equivalent of eight paid staffers, according to its executive director, Christine Lucas.
The center benefits from its proximity to Washington in a multitude of ways: Its books are kept in order by three federal budget analysts in their off hours, for example.
As volunteers from a local church passed out milk, eggs and other staples to those in need, Arlington residents Heidi and Jon Wood arrived with their son, Lukas, 5.
Lukas "wanted to make sure we brought cereal kids would like," Jon Wood said, so Lukas toted boxes of honey-nut cereal and $6.02 from his piggy bank.
The Woods -- a research analyst and an engineer -- weren't surprised to hear that Washington's volunteer rate was higher than average. This place is "all type A's," quipped Jon Wood.
Heidi Wood got teary-eyed when she hugged Lukas in her arms and tried to explain why the family continues to volunteer, even though they're busy parents with full-time jobs.
The couple spends several weeks each spring helping a group that renovates homes for the disadvantaged.
For one thing, she said, they want to set a good example for their son and Jon's 12-year-old daughter, who visits regularly. But there are more elusive reasons.
"Mommy, are you crying?" asked Lukas, laying a hand on her cheek.
"A little bit," Heidi said. Then she continued.
"It makes us feel, I don't know, less whiny? More blessed. Very aware of our blessings."
View all comments that have been posted about this article.