Utah is tops in volunteers

Although Kristen Pratt has a full-time job, she still finds time for fellow Utahns through volunteer organizations — four volunteer organizations, to be exact.

She gives her time twice a month to Welcome Babies, once a week to Centro Hispano, twice a week to Project Read and every day as the Americore Promise Fellow with United Way.

And according to results of a survey on state volunteering rates, Pratt is not the only Utahn with a strong commitment to service.

A survey by the Points of Light national volunteer center network and researchers at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, show that Utah has the nation's highest rate of adult volunteers — a result that does not surprise leaders of Utah's volunteer centers.

"The people that live in Utah care a lot about their community and a lot about their neighbors," said Mary Alice Cannon, manager of the United Way volunteer center in Utah County.

Researchers found that the volunteering rate in Utah is 46.8 percent, 6 percentage points higher than the second-highest-ranking state, Iowa. The survey used data collected by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.

According to data collected by the bureau, religious organizations were the primary volunteer organizations.

Pratt said she thinks Utah's voluntarism shows the strong influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Scott Snow, executive director for the Utah Commission on Volunteers, said he feels the high rate of volunteers comes from the western United States culture and tradition of "leaning on your neighbor and helping each other."

"Some of the first Utahns had to pull together and help each other to survive," Snow said. "Still, Utahns believe in service and community involvement."

Cannon said in Utah, volunteering in the community is a readily available opportunity, through nonprofit organizations, volunteer centers and church service. In other states, Cannon said, people don't have or aren't aware of volunteer opportunities.

Christopher Cihlar, director of program evaluation for the Points of Light Foundation, stated on the Points of Light Web site that research on the survey showed that the higher the rate of volunteer centers to the population, the higher the rate of volunteers.

"In states where there is a lower proportion of volunteer centers to the population, volunteering raters are lower," Cihlar said.

Louisiana, for example, has seven volunteer centers that are Points of Light members, while Utah has 15.

"It's what I love doing," Pratt said of her volunteer work. "I never really realized how easy it was to get involved. I look back now and I think I could have gotten started on so many of these things so much earlier."

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