LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS? GO TO CHURCH!
Survey finds Americans more likely to serve through places of worship than other venues
MINNEAPOLIS (April 4, 2006) – Want to find where volunteers hang out? Go to church! A plurality of American adults (30 percent) said they volunteered last year through their place of worship, according to a national survey by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Following faith-based organizations in recruiting individuals to roll up their sleeves in service to others were charitable organizations (28 percent), schools (24 percent) and employers (16 percent).
In all, the survey found that 57 percent of American adults had done volunteer work in the past 12 months while 43 percent indicated they had not performed volunteer work organized by a third party.
Volunteering – A transformational experience
The survey found that many Americans understand volunteering to be a transformational experience. When asked “Who is changed more through volunteerism—the person doing the volunteer work or the people benefiting from the volunteer service?,” nearly half (47 percent) of Americans reported the volunteer experiences a greater change. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said the people benefiting from the volunteer service are changed more, while 21 percent of respondents said that both groups—the volunteers and those being helped—are changed equally.
Read the entire news release at thrivent.com/newsroom.
