Volunteering lifts job prospects of the jobless - The Washington Post

Volunteering lifts job prospects of the jobless - The Washington Post: Unemployed Americans stand a much better chance of finding a paying job if they first work for free. That is the key finding from a new federal study that is billed as the first empirical examination of the benefits of volunteering for out-of-work Americans.

The report, to be released Tuesday by the Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that encourages and facilitates volunteerism, found that jobless Americans increase their odds of finding work by 27 percent if they volunteer.

Philanthropy beat: Report says we love to volunteer | StarTribune.com

Philanthropy beat: Report says we love to volunteer | StarTribune.com: Nearly 1.6 million Minnesotans volunteered in their schools, churches and communities in 2011, or about 38 percent of all residents.

It was the fourth highest level of volunteerism in the nation, according to the annual "Volunteering and Civic Life in America" report released last month. The report builds on Minnesota's status as a national leader in giving back to communities.

The top five states for volunteering are Utah (41 percent), Idaho (39), Iowa (38.4), Minnesota (38) and South Dakota (37).

Deseret News | Hard times underscore the need for voluntarism

Deseret News | Hard times underscore the need for voluntarism: "Our nation and our people are facing tough times, not unlike the depression of the 1930s. We have growing unemployment, longer food lines, home foreclosures, lack of affordable health care, and those public and nonprofit institutions that help people in need are unable to meet the growing demands. Utahns have been proud of the values our forefathers and pioneers fostered, especially that of reaching out, helping each other, and of voluntarism"

techPresident – Information Age Volunteerism - Open Sourced! Crowdsourced!

techPresident – Information Age Volunteerism - Open Sourced! Crowdsourced!: "Information Age Volunteerism - Open Sourced! Crowdsourced!

My mom friended me on Facebook last week - we've formally entered the Information Age. The transformation touches so many aspects of our lives, from family relationships to the seeds of our economy. But despite my mom's online habits (and the empirical evidence it may provide about living in the Information Age) and in the midst of great national excitement about community service, the field of volunteerism remains stolidly in the Industrial Era. It retains structured hierarchies, formal vetting phases, and long-term relationships. But the moment is ripe. We can look to Wikipedia, iStockPhoto, and other Information Age examples to inform, enliven and inspire volunteerism."

CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Volunteerism: Help is here

CJOnline / The Topeka Capital-Journal - Volunteerism: Help is here: "A new study of volunteerism in the U.S. provides a beam of hope in these worrisome economic times.

The study, published Tuesday in USA Today, shows that Topeka is among the top 10 midsized American cities in percentage of residents who performed volunteer service last year."