Why are volunteerism rates uneven? Florida, Wyoming explain

By KAY DERVISHI and YESICA BALDERRAMA of The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Chronicle of Philanthropy

The share of Americans who volunteer their time to help charities build houses, serve food, do environmental cleanup, and much else has been on the decline nationwide but nowhere as sharply as in Florida, where only 16% of residents donate their free hours to local organizations, according to the latest available statistics. That’s a drop from the nearly 23% of residents who volunteered in 2017. Florida’s volunteer rate slumped in large part because of the pandemic, which made it especially risky for older Americans — who are among the most loyal and regular part of the volunteer population in Florida and elsewhere — to interact in public settings.