(KNSI) — A new report shows Minnesota nice extends to how we spend our free time.
Every other year, AmeriCorps works with the U.S. Census Bureau to track how many people are signing up for volunteer work. Nationally the pandemic cut into those numbers, but Minnesota is among the top ten states for what is known as formal volunteering or helping others through nonprofits.
Minnesota’s formal volunteer rate for 2021 was 35%, the third highest in the country.
AmeriCorps CEO Michael Smith says informal volunteering was also strong as “people continued to shovel the walks for their neighbors, they continued to ask their homebound neighbors, or maybe their immune-compromised neighbor, ‘Do you need me to go to the grocery store for you?'”
The report says more than 60 million people across the U.S. formally volunteered with organizations in 2020 and 2021. That number more than doubled when looking at people who helped their neighbors and community without any group affiliation.
Michelle Baumhoefner leads the ACE organization. ACE stands for Advocate, Connect, Educate, and part of their focus is finding volunteer opportunities for retirees. She says she saw a trend of individuals not returning to their roles as the pandemic waned but hopes a new crop of volunteers could step up.
“We owe it to our older generation and our younger generation to teach them how to volunteer and to engage with their communities.”
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MNC Reporter Mike Moen contributed to this story.
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