Where Are the Volunteers?

Maybe they were busy watching Siegfried & Roy. Nevada's residents placed dead last in a study of state volunteering rates released by the Corporation for National and Community Service last week. The federal agency used U.S. Census Bureau data from 2003 to 2005 to compile the report, which ranked every state and the District of Columbia by the percent of residents who volunteered and the number of hours they served yearly. Less than 1 in 5 Nevadans did volunteer work during the period; New York and Louisiana round out the bottom three. Top marks go to Utah, where 48 percent of residents volunteer. "Utah has such a spirit of service and ... pitching in when people need help," said Kathy Hyde of the Utah Commission on Volunteers. Overall, the number of Americans volunteering went from 59.8 million in 2002 to 65.4 million in 2005. As for Tennessee, the "Volunteer State" It ranked a dismal 41st.