Volunteering is soaring

Volunteering in the United States is at a 30-year high, driven largely by service hours from older Americans, according to a national report released Monday.

Putting in more than 450 hours at the Utah Food Bank last year, David Murdock has helped drive the increase in volunteering among Americans 65 years and older. Since 1974, volunteering among the demographic has increased by 64 percent, and it was the only one to withstand a drop in adult volunteer hours between 1974 and 1989.

Murdock retired from the state crime lab in March 2005 after 22 years as a chemist there. Prior to that, he spent six years as a toxicologist at the Utah Department of Health.

At 69 years old, the West Valley City resident said he had "too much energy" to spend his retirement with his feet up.

"I just thought that I could do something for the community, and I thought that the food bank would be an interesting place," he said.

In November and December, one of the food bank's busiest times of year, Murdock will work five days a week for three hours at a time. In the non-holiday season, he usually puts in between 10 and 15 hours a week, sorting, boxing, weighing and wrapping food donations. He's taken responsibility for many quality control matters and has made changes in several food bank operations.

Murdock also coaches soccer and softball and takes guitar lessons.

"I just have a lot of energy, and I feel like I'd like to do something worthwhile," he said. "And it's a very exciting area, to see all the volunteers working there. They actually get the job done."

Monday's report uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to present a historical look at volunteering in the United States since 1974. Presented by the Corporation for National and Community Service, the research shows that increased volunteer hours are driven primarily by three age groups: teenagers ages 16 to 19, baby boomers and older adults ages 65 and older.

According to a June report from the same agency, Utah topped the nation in a state-by-state analysis of volunteer rates between 2003 and 2005.

Following a 15 percent decrease between 1974 and 1989, the country's adult volunteer rate has increased some 32 percent and is now at a 30-year high, according to the report.