Utah's ethic of giving back

It's remarkable. Nearly half of Utah residents 16 and older served as volunteers between 2003 and 2005, a number that tops the nation. According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Utahns also give more of their time more often than people in any other state.

Whether it's elementary school children collecting shoe boxes of toys, candy and other trinkets to send to children in other countries or church, benevolent or corporate groups that lend their assistance to an event or ongoing cause, volunteering appears to be a shared ethic in the Beehive State.

Service and charity go hand-in-hand with religiosity. The survey found more than 63 percent of Utah residents linked their volunteer service to religious organizations, compared to about 35 percent nationwide. This bodes well for each of Utah's religious communities, many of which believe service and voluntarism is a practical extension of what they are taught in scripture to love others and help those who are less fortunate.

Many churches also participate in interfaith service projects such as the Interfaith Hospitality Network, in which homeless families stay in various churches that belong to the organization for a week each. Families obtain meals and shelter in nurturing settings. Churches that do not physically host families help to provide food and other support.

Add this to broad-spectrum volunteering that occurs in schools, community organizations and youth-related organizations.

Utah was No. 1 in nearly every category of the survey, which measured volunteer rates of participating individuals, their ages, hours served, gender and race or ethnicity. Utahns also were tops in the number of service hours they provided in a year's time, which was 96, compared with the national average of 50.

Utahns should be proud of these accomplishments and pledge to continue to serve their fellow man. As anyone who has performed volunteer work can attest, service is its own reward.