Minnesota ranks among top 5 states for volunteerism, survey finds
MINNEAPOLIS -- The maxim of "Minnesota nice" just got some data to back it up, as the independent agency AmeriCorps recently released information on volunteerism.
AmeriCorps ranked Minnesota among the top five states in the country when it comes to formally volunteering, and just outside the top five states when it comes to informally helping out.
Only two states ranked higher for formal volunteering -- Wyoming and Utah. Among Minnesota's residents, 35.5% volunteered during 2020 and 2021, the survey reported. Nearly 62% percent of residents informally helped during the same time period, such tasks as watching someone's children or running errands for them.
AmeriCorps reported that 1,587,056 formal volunteers contributed 108.5 million hours of service through organizations worth an estimated $3.5 billion.
Michael Smith, CEO of AmeriCorps, said they saw a national trend of decline when it comes to volunteerism.
"We also saw that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic's devastating impact, Americans support to their neighbors remained steady and tens of millions continued serving their communities," Smith said. "Whether volunteering one time or long-term, Americans can make a tremendous difference, and I am more confident than ever before about the power and potential of service to meet the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead."
Overall, the report said 60.7 million people across the U.S. formally volunteered with organizations during the two years of the survey.
The five states that ranked above Minnesota for informally lending a helping hand were Montana, Nebraska, Maine, Delaware, and Vermont.