Technical Information:   (202) 691-6378       USDL 05-2278
                http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                              For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media Contact:                 691-5902       Friday, December 9, 2005
                                
                                
             VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES, 2005


   About 65.4 million people volunteered through or for an
organization at least once between September 2004 and September
2005, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of
Labor reported today.  The proportion of the population who
volunteered was 28.8 percent, the same as in each of the prior
2 years.

   These data on volunteering were collected through a supplement
to the September 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS).  Volunteers
are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses)
through or for an organization.  The CPS is a monthly survey of
about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and
unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population
age 16 and over.   For more information about the volunteer supplement,
see the Technical Note.
     
Volunteering Among Demographic Groups

   One-fourth of men and about one-third of women did volunteer
work in the year ended in September 2005, about the same proportions
as in the 2 prior years.  Women volunteered at a higher rate than
men across age groups, educational levels, and other major character-
istics.  (See tables A and 1.)

   By age, persons age 35 to 44 were the most likely to volunteer
(34.5 percent), closely followed by 45- to 54-year olds (32.7
percent).  Teenagers also had a relatively high volunteer rate,
30.4 percent, perhaps reflecting an emphasis on volunteer activi-
ties in schools.  Volunteer rates were lowest among persons in
their early twenties (19.5 percent) and among those age 65 and
over (24.8 percent).  Within the latter group, volunteer rates
decreased as age increased.

   Whites volunteered at a higher rate (30.4 percent) than did
blacks (22.1 percent) and Asians (20.7 percent).  Among Hispanics
or Latinos, 15.4 percent volunteered.
   
   Married persons volunteered at a higher rate (34.1 percent)
than never-married persons (23.0 percent) and persons of other
marital statuses (23.1 percent).  Parents with children under age
18 were more likely to volunteer than persons without children of
that age, 37.0 percent compared with 25.5 percent.

   Among employed persons, 31.3 percent had volunteered during
the year ended in September 2005.  By comparison, the volunteer
rates of persons who were unemployed (26.4 percent) or not in the
labor force (24.4 percent) were lower.  Among the employed, part-
time workers were more likely than full-time workers to have
participated in volunteer activities--38.2 versus 29.8 percent.

                                  - 2 -

Table A.  Volunteers by selected characteristics, September 2002-05

(Numbers in thousands)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                              |September 2002 |September 2003 |September 2004 |September 2005
                              |---------------------------------------------------------------
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
                              |        | Per- |        | Per- |        | Per- |        | Per-
        Characteristic        |        | cent |        | cent |        | cent |        | cent
                              | Number |  of  | Number |  of  | Number |  of  | Number |  of
                              |        | popu-|        | popu-|        | popu-|        | popu-
                              |        |lation|        |lation|        |lation|        |lation
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
             Sex              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
Total, both sexes.............| 59,783 | 27.4 | 63,791 | 28.8 | 64,542 | 28.8 | 65,357 | 28.8
  Men.........................| 24,706 | 23.6 | 26,805 | 25.1 | 27,011 | 25.0 | 27,370 | 25.0
  Women.......................| 35,076 | 31.0 | 36,987 | 32.2 | 37,530 | 32.4 | 37,987 | 32.4
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
             Age              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
Total, 16 years and over......| 59,783 | 27.4 | 63,791 | 28.8 | 64,542 | 28.8 | 65,357 | 28.8
  16 to 24 years..............|  7,742 | 21.9 |  8,671 | 24.1 |  8,821 | 24.2 |  8,955 | 24.4
  25 to 34 years..............|  9,574 | 24.8 | 10,337 | 26.5 | 10,046 | 25.8 |  9,881 | 25.3
  35 to 44 years..............| 14,971 | 34.1 | 15,165 | 34.7 | 14,783 | 34.2 | 14,809 | 34.5
  45 to 54 years..............| 12,477 | 31.3 | 13,302 | 32.7 | 13,584 | 32.8 | 13,826 | 32.7
  55 to 64 years..............|  7,331 | 27.5 |  8,170 | 29.2 |  8,784 | 30.1 |  9,173 | 30.2
  65 years and over...........|  7,687 | 22.7 |  8,146 | 23.7 |  8,524 | 24.6 |  8,712 | 24.8
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
    Race and Hispanic or      |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
      Latino ethnicity        |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
White(1)......................| 52,591 | 29.2 | 55,572 | 30.6 | 55,892 | 30.5 | 56,170 | 30.4
Black or African American(1)..|  4,896 | 19.1 |  5,145 | 20.0 |  5,435 | 20.8 |  5,879 | 22.1
Asian(1)......................|   (2)  |  (2) |  1,735 | 18.7 |  1,832 | 19.3 |  2,055 | 20.7
Hispanic or Latino ethnicity..|  4,059 | 15.5 |  4,364 | 15.7 |  4,102 | 14.5 |  4,511 | 15.4
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
   Educational attainment(3)..|        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
Less than a high school       |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
 diploma......................|  2,806 | 10.1 |  2,793 |  9.9 |  2,718 |  9.6 |  2,837 | 10.0
High school graduates, no     |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
 college(4)...................| 12,542 | 21.2 | 12,882 | 21.7 | 12,709 | 21.6 | 12,594 | 21.2
Less than a bachelor's        |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
 degree(5)....................| 15,066 | 32.8 | 15,966 | 34.1 | 16,414 | 34.2 | 16,452 | 33.7
College graduates.............| 21,627 | 43.3 | 23,481 | 45.6 | 23,880 | 45.7 | 24,517 | 45.8
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
      Employment status       |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
                              |        |      |        |      |        |      |        |
Civilian labor force..........| 42,773 | 29.3 | 45,499 | 30.9 | 45,896 | 30.9 | 46,872 | 31.1
  Employed ...................| 40,742 | 29.5 | 43,138 | 31.2 | 43,886 | 31.2 | 44,894 | 31.3
    Full time(6)..............| 32,210 | 28.3 | 33,599 | 29.6 | 34,237 | 29.6 | 35,225 | 29.8
    Part time(7)..............|  8,532 | 35.4 |  9,539 | 38.4 |  9,649 | 38.5 |  9,669 | 38.2
  Unemployed..................|  2,031 | 25.1 |  2,361 | 26.7 |  2,010 | 25.6 |  1,978 | 26.4
Not in the labor force........| 17,010 | 23.7 | 18,293 | 24.6 | 18,646 | 24.7 | 18,485 | 24.4
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
  1  Beginning in 2003, persons who selected this race group only; persons who selected more
than one race group are not included.  Prior to 2003, persons who reported more than one race
group were included in the group they identified as their main race.
  2  Data for Asians were not tabulated in 2002.
  3  Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
  4  Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
  5  Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
  6  Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
  7  Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
  NOTE:  Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian)
do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.  In addition, persons
whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are
classified by ethnicity as well as by race.  Due to the introduction of revised population
controls in January 2003, 2004, and 2005, estimated levels for 2003, 2004, and 2005 are not
strictly comparable with each other or with those for 2002.  See the Technical Note for
further information.


                                  - 3 -

Total Annual Hours Spent Volunteering

   Volunteers spent a median of 50 hours on volunteer activities
during the period from September 2004 to September 2005.  This
was down slightly from the level in the three previous surveys.
Men spent 52 hours volunteering and women spent 50 hours.  Median
annual hours spent on volunteer activities ranged from a high of
96 hours for volunteers age 65 and over to a low of 36 hours for
those 16 to 19 and 25 to 34 years old.  (See table 2.)

Number and Type of Organizations

   Most volunteers were involved with one or two organizations--
69.6 and 18.9 percent, respectively.  Individuals with higher
educational attainment were more likely to volunteer for multiple
organizations than were individuals with less education.  Parents
also were more likely to volunteer for more than one organization
than persons with no own children under 18.  (See table 3.)

   The main organization--the organization for which the volunteer
worked the most hours during the year--was most frequently either
religious (34.8 percent of all volunteers) or educational/youth
service related (26.2 percent).  Another 13.4 percent of volunteers
performed activities mainly for social or community service organi-
zations.  (See table 4.)

   Older volunteers were more likely to work mainly for religious
organizations than were their younger counterparts.  For example,
45.0 percent of volunteers age 65 and over performed volunteer
activities mainly through or for a religious organization, compared
with 27.5 percent of volunteers age 16 to 24 years.  Younger individ-
uals were more likely to volunteer through or for educational or youth
service organizations.

   Among volunteers with children under 18 years old, 45.2 percent of
mothers and 36.1 percent of fathers volunteered mainly for an educa-
tional/youth service-related organization, such as a school or sports
team.  Parents were more than twice as likely to volunteer for such
organizations as persons with no children of that age--51.5 and
21.6 percent, respectively.  Conversely, volunteers with no children
under 18 were considerably more likely to volunteer for some other
types of organizations, such as hospitals or other health organiza-
tions and social or community service organizations.

Volunteer Activities for Main Organization

   Volunteers were able to report more than one activity that they
had performed for their main organization.  Fundraising was the most
commonly reported activity (29.7 percent), followed by collecting,
preparing, distributing, or serving food (26.3 percent), engaging in
general labor or supplying transportation to people (22.5 percent),
and tutoring or teaching (21.3 percent).  (See table 5.)

   Educational attainment influenced the types of activities volun-
teers performed.  People with higher levels of educational attainment
were more likely to provide professional or management assistance,
tutor or teach, mentor youth, coach, referee, or supervise sports
teams, or provide counseling, medical care, fire/EMS, or protective
services.  They were less likely to collect, prepare, distribute,
or serve food, or be an usher, greeter, or minister.

   Parents were considerably more likely than those without
children to engage in several types of volunteer activities--
fundraising, tutoring or teaching, mentoring youth, and coach-
ing, refereeing, or supervising sports teams.  This may be
because parents often volunteer for organizations in which their
children are involved.

                                  - 4 -

How Volunteers Became Involved with Main Organization

   Two in five volunteers became involved with the main organiza-
tion for which they did volunteer work on their own initiative;
that is, they approached the organization.  A slightly larger pro-
portion, almost 43 percent, was asked to volunteer, most often by
someone in the organization.  (See table 6.)


Reasons for Not Volunteering

   Among those who had volunteered at some point in the past, the
most common reason given for not volunteering in the year ended
September 2005 was lack of time (45.6 percent), followed by health
or medical problems (15.2 percent), and family responsibilities or
childcare problems (9.3 percent).  Lack of time was the most common
reason for persons in all age groups except those age 65 and over,
who reported health or medical problems as the primary reason.
(See table 7.)



    
                                  - 5 -

Technical Note

   The data in this release were collected through a supplement to the
September 2005 Current Population Survey (CPS).  The CPS--a monthly sur-
vey of about 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics--focuses on obtaining information on em-
ployment and unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional 
population age 16 and over.  The purpose of this supplement to the CPS 
was to obtain information on the incidence of volunteering and the char-
acteristics of volunteers in the United States.
   
   In January 2003, 2004, and 2005 the Census Bureau introduced  adjust-
ments to the population controls for the CPS as part of its annual update
of population estimates.  The 2003 adjustment resulted in an increase to
the estimates for all population categories.  This increase was partly
offset by downward adjustments in 2004 and 2005.  Consequently, estimat-
ed levels of volunteers for September 2003, 2004, and 2005 are not strictly
comparable with one another, or with estimated levels for September 2002.
These adjustments to the levels, however, should have had only negligible
effects on the volunteer rates.  In addition to the population control
adjustments, new questions on race and ethnicity were introduced into the
CPS in January 2003.  For a discussion of the changes introduced into the
CPS in January 2003, see "Revisions to the Current Population Survey Effec-
tive in January 2003," in the February 2003 issue of Employment and Earnings,
available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf on the BLS Web site.  For
a discussion of the changes introduced in January 2004, see "Adjustments
to Household Survey Population Estimates in January 2004," in the February
2004 issue of Employment and Earnings, available on the BLS Web site at
http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps04adj.pdf.  For a discussion of the changes intro-
duced in January 2005, see "Adjustments to Household Survey Population Esti-
mates in January 2005," in the February 2005 issue of Employment and Earnings,
available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps05adj.pdf.
   
   Information in this release will be made available to sensory-impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number:  1-800-877-8339.
   
Reliability of the estimates
   
   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling
error.  When a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there 
is a chance that the sample estimates may differ from the "true" population 
values they represent.  The exact difference, or sampling error, varies de-
pending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is measured 
by the standard error of the estimate.  There is about a 90-percent chance, 
or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ by no 
more than 1.6 standard errors from the "true" population value because of  
sampling error.  BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level 
of confidence.
   
   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error.  Nonsampling error
can occur for many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of
the population, inability to obtain information for all respondents in the
sample, inability or unwillingness of respondents to provide correct infor-
mation, and errors made in the collection or processing of the data.
   
   For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and for
information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and
Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings.
   
                                  - 6 -

Volunteer questions and concepts
   
   In the September 2005 supplement, questions on volunteer activities were
asked of all households.  Efforts were made to have household members answer 
the volunteer questions for themselves.  (Generally, one member of the house-
hold answers all the questions in the CPS on behalf of the entire household.)
Self-response was considered important for the volunteer supplement because
research indicated that self- respondents could more easily answer questions
on the characteristics of the volunteer activity.  About 70 percent of the
responses were self-reports.
   
   The survey was introduced as follows:  "This month, we are interested 
in volunteer activities, that is, activities for which people are not paid, 
except perhaps expenses.  We only want you to include volunteer activities 
that you did through or for an organization, even if you only did them once 
in a while."
        
   Following this introduction, respondents were asked the first supplement
question:  "Since September 1st of last year, have you done any volunteer
activities through or for an organization?"
        
   If respondents did not answer "yes" to the first question, they were asked
the following question:  "Sometimes people don't think of activities they do 
infrequently or activities they do for children's schools or youth organiza-
tions as volunteer activities.  Since September 1st of last year, have you 
done any of these types of volunteer activities?"
   
   Respondents were considered volunteers if they answered "yes" to either 
of these questions.
   
   Respondents thus classified as volunteers were asked further questions
about the number and type of organizations for which they volunteered, to-
tal hours spent volunteering, how they became involved with the main organ-
ization for which they volunteered, and the type of activities they performed 
for the main organization.  Non-volunteers were asked about why they didn't
volunteer and if they had ever volunteered.
   
   The reference period for the questions on volunteering was about 1 year,
from September 1, 2004, through the survey week in September 2005.  The ref-
erence period for other characteristics, such as labor force status, edu-
cational attainment, and marital status, refer to the survey reference week 
in September 2005.  It is possible that these characteristics were different 
at the time volunteer activities were performed.
   
Definitions
   
   Volunteers are persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities at any
point from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September 2005.
The count of volunteers only includes persons who volunteered through or
for an organization; the figures do not include persons who volunteered in
a more informal manner.  For example, a woman who taught actng to children 
through a local theater would be considered a volunteer.  However, a woman
who, on her own, organized softball games for the children in her neighbor-
hood would not be counted as a volunteer for the purpose of this survey.
   
                                  - 7 -

   Organizations are associations, societies, or groups of people who share
a common interest.  Examples include churches, youth groups, and civic or-
ganizations.  For the purpose of this study, organizations are grouped into
eight major categories, including religious, youth, and social or community
service organizations.  (See table 4.)

   One new organization category, immigrant/refugee assistance, was added to
the questionnaire as a possible response this year.  Responses that were col-
lected in this category may have been distributed over at least six of the
major organization categories in previous years.  For this reason, the addi-
tion of the new response category created a break in the comparability of
organizations between 2005 and prior years.  Because few people reported vol-
unteering for immigrant/refugee assistance organizations and because the
group was not a definite subset of any of the major organization categories,
those persons who did report that they volunteered for immigrant/refugee
assistance organizations were placed in the "other" group.
   
   The main organization is the organization for which the volunteer worked
the most hours during the year.  If a respondent volunteered for only one
organization, it was considered the main organization, even if exact hours
were not obtained.
   
   In order to identify the type of main organization, respondents had to
provide information about the organization and, for those who volunteered
for more than one organization, annual hours worked for each.  Some re-
spondents did not provide the information necessary to determine the type
of main organization.  For these respondents, the follow-up questions on
activities and how they became involved with the main organization asked
them to report on the organization for which they think they spent the 
most time volunteering.

   Activities are the specific tasks the volunteer did for an organization.
Examples include tutoring, fundraising, and serving food.  The activity cate-
gories were modified this year; thus, the data on activities are not directly
comparable with those for prior years.

 
 

     Table 1.  Volunteers by selected characteristics, September 2005
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                             Total, both sexes                  Men                        Women           
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                                      Volunteers                  Volunteers                  Volunteers   
     Characteristics in September 2005   Civilian                    Civilian                    Civilian                  
                                         noninsti-                   noninsti-                   noninsti-                  
                                         tutional          Percent   tutional          Percent   tutional          Percent 
                                         popula-   Number    of      popula-    Number   of      popula-   Number    of   
                                           tion            popula-     tion            popula-     tion            popula-
                                                            tion                        tion                        tion   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
                    Age                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                           
     Total, 16 years and over..........  226,693   65,357    28.8    109,475   27,370    25.0    117,218   37,987    32.4  
       16 to 24 years..................   36,735    8,955    24.4     18,532    3,858    20.8     18,202    5,097    28.0  
          16 to 19 years...............   16,443    5,000    30.4      8,339    2,282    27.4      8,104    2,718    33.5  
          20 to 24 years...............   20,291    3,956    19.5     10,193    1,576    15.5     10,098    2,380    23.6  
       25 years and over...............  189,958   56,401    29.7     90,943   23,512    25.9     99,015   32,889    33.2  
          25 to 34 years...............   39,118    9,881    25.3     19,479    3,949    20.3     19,639    5,931    30.2  
          35 to 44 years...............   42,968   14,809    34.5     21,165    6,105    28.8     21,803    8,704    39.9  
          45 to 54 years...............   42,316   13,826    32.7     20,701    5,999    29.0     21,615    7,828    36.2  
          55 to 64 years...............   30,410    9,173    30.2     14,622    3,999    27.3     15,788    5,174    32.8  
          65 years and over............   35,146    8,712    24.8     14,975    3,460    23.1     20,170    5,252    26.0  
                                                                                                                           
        Race and Hispanic or                                                                                         
          Latino ethnicity                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                           
     White.............................  184,851   56,170    30.4     90,248   23,726    26.3     94,602   32,444    34.3  
     Black or African American.........   26,618    5,879    22.1     11,933    2,226    18.7     14,685    3,654    24.9  
     Asian.............................    9,946    2,055    20.7      4,729      845    17.9      5,217    1,210    23.2  
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity......   29,361    4,511    15.4     15,083    1,839    12.2     14,278    2,671    18.7  
                                                                                                                           
         Educational attainment (1)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                           
     Less than a high school diploma...   28,256    2,837    10.0     13,868    1,156     8.3     14,388    1,682    11.7  
     High school graduates, no                                                                                             
        college (2)....................   59,345   12,594    21.2     28,278    5,072    17.9     31,066    7,522    24.2  
     Less than a bachelor's                                                                                          
        degree (3).....................   48,861   16,452    33.7     22,276    6,382    28.6     26,584   10,071    37.9  
     College graduates.................   53,497   24,517    45.8     26,520   10,903    41.1     26,977   13,615    50.5  
                                                                                                                           
               Marital status                                                                                              
                                                                                                                           
     Single, never married.............   62,938   14,445    23.0     33,387    6,249    18.7     29,551    8,196    27.7  
     Married, spouse present...........  119,128   40,611    34.1     60,337   18,292    30.3     58,792   22,318    38.0  
     Other marital status (4)..........   44,626   10,301    23.1     15,752    2,829    18.0     28,875    7,472    25.9  
                                                                                                                           
          Presence of own children                                                                                         
             under 18 years (5)                                                                                            
                                                                                                                           
     Without own children under 18.....  160,998   41,058    25.5     80,229   17,618    22.0     80,769   23,439    29.0  
     With own children under 18........   65,695   24,299    37.0     29,246    9,752    33.3     36,449   14,547    39.9  
                                                                                                                           
             Employment status                                                                                             
                                                                                                                           
     Civilian labor force..............  150,863   46,872    31.1     80,780   21,684    26.8     70,084   25,188    35.9  
       Employed........................  143,381   44,894    31.3     76,999   20,947    27.2     66,383   23,947    36.1  
         Full time (6).................  118,059   35,225    29.8     68,594   18,385    26.8     49,465   16,840    34.0  
         Part time (7).................   25,323    9,669    38.2      8,405    2,562    30.5     16,918    7,107    42.0  
       Unemployed......................    7,482    1,978    26.4      3,781      737    19.5      3,701    1,241    33.5  
     Not in the labor force............   75,830   18,485    24.4     28,695    5,686    19.8     47,134   12,799    27.2  

       1 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
       2 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
       3 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
       4 Includes divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
       5 Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children.  Not included are nieces, nephews,
     grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.
       6 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
       7 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
       NOTE:  Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for an organization at any
     point from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September 2005.  Estimates for the above race groups
     (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.  In
     addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classi-
     fied by ethnicity as well as by race.



            
     Table 2.  Volunteers by annual hours of volunteer activities and selected characteristics, September 2005
                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                          
                                                    Percent distribution of total annual hours spent volunteering         
                                                                        at all organizations                              
                                           Total                                                                   Median 
                                        volunteers                                                                 annual 
     Characteristics in September 2005  (thousands)                                                        Not     hours 
                                                             1 to 14 15 to 49 50 to 99  100 to     500   report-    (1)  
                                                     Total   hour(s)   hours    hours     499     hours    ing            
                                                                                         hours     and    annual          
                                                                                                  over    hours          
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     
                    Sex                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                          
     Total, both sexes.................   65,357     100.0     21.5     25.0     14.8     27.8      5.2      5.8     50   
       Men.............................   27,370     100.0     20.6     25.1     14.7     28.3      5.6      5.7     52   
       Women...........................   37,987     100.0     22.0     25.0     14.8     27.4      4.9      5.9     50   
                                                                                                                          
                    Age                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                          
     Total, 16 years and over..........   65,357     100.0     21.5     25.0     14.8     27.8      5.2      5.8     50   
       16 to 24 years..................    8,955     100.0     24.5     28.0     14.2     22.6      3.2      7.6     36   
          16 to 19 years...............    5,000     100.0     24.1     30.7     13.8     21.7      2.4      7.3     36   
          20 to 24 years...............    3,956     100.0     24.9     24.5     14.8     23.7      4.1      7.9     40   
       25 years and over...............   56,401     100.0     21.0     24.6     14.9     28.6      5.5      5.5     52   
          25 to 34 years...............    9,881     100.0     26.4     27.7     13.5     23.5      4.2      4.7     36   
          35 to 44 years...............   14,809     100.0     22.9     25.4     15.9     27.0      4.4      4.4     48   
          45 to 54 years...............   13,826     100.0     21.2     25.3     15.4     27.5      5.0      5.5     50   
          55 to 64 years...............    9,173     100.0     19.0     23.3     14.8     30.1      6.6      6.3     56   
          65 years and over............    8,712     100.0     13.4     19.8     13.8     37.0      8.6      7.4     96   
                                                                                                                          
        Race and Hispanic or                                                                                        
          Latino ethnicity                                                                                                
                                                                                                                          
     White.............................   56,170     100.0     21.3     25.3     15.0     27.9      5.0      5.3     50   
     Black or African American.........    5,879     100.0     20.6     22.7     13.2     26.4      7.1      9.9     52   
     Asian.............................    2,055     100.0     27.9     22.8     12.5     26.9      3.6      6.3     40   
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity......    4,511     100.0     25.4     25.1     13.5     24.9      4.7      6.5     40   
                                                                                                                          
         Educational attainment (2)                                                                                       
                                                                                                                          
     Less than a high school diploma...    2,837     100.0     22.8     23.9     12.1     27.2      5.7      8.3     48   
     High school graduates, no                                                                                     
        college (3)....................   12,594     100.0     23.4     23.6     14.1     26.4      5.3      7.2     48   
     Less than a bachelor's                                                                                         
        degree (4).....................   16,452     100.0     21.3     25.2     15.0     27.8      5.5      5.2     50   
     College graduates.................   24,517     100.0     19.3     24.8     15.5     30.4      5.6      4.5     55   
                                                                                                                          
               Marital status                                                                                             
                                                                                                                          
     Single, never married.............   14,445     100.0     24.3     27.3     14.0     22.7      4.0      7.6     40   
     Married, spouse present...........   40,611     100.0     20.5     24.3     14.9     29.6      5.5      5.1     52   
     Other marital status (5)..........   10,301     100.0     21.2     24.7     15.2     27.4      5.5      6.0     52   
                                                                                                                          
          Presence of own children                                                                                        
             under 18 years (6)                                                                                           
                                                                                                                          
     Men:                                                                                                                 
       No own children under 18 years                                                                                     
          old..........................   17,618     100.0     20.0     25.0     14.6     28.0      6.0      6.4     52   
       With own children under 18 years                                                                                   
          old..........................    9,752     100.0     21.8     25.3     15.0     28.8      4.8      4.4     50   
     Women:                                                                                                               
       No own children under 18 years                                                                                     
          old..........................   23,439     100.0     22.1     24.2     14.1     27.5      5.2      6.9     50   
       With own children under 18 years                                                                                   
          old..........................   14,547     100.0     22.0     26.2     16.0     27.2      4.5      4.1     48   
                                                                                                                          
             Employment status                                                                                            
                                                                                                                          
     Civilian labor force..............   46,872     100.0     22.8     26.2     15.1     26.2      4.4      5.3     48   
       Employed........................   44,894     100.0     22.8     26.2     14.9     26.4      4.4      5.3     48   
         Full time (7).................   35,225     100.0     23.3     26.4     15.0     25.7      4.2      5.4     45   
         Part time (8).................    9,669     100.0     20.6     25.7     14.9     29.0      4.8      5.0     51   
       Unemployed......................    1,978     100.0     24.2     26.3     17.7     20.9      5.8      5.0     42   
     Not in the labor force............   18,485     100.0     18.0     22.1     14.0     31.7      7.1      7.1     62   

       1 For those reporting annual hours.
       2 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
       3 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
       4 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
       5 Includes divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
       6 Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children.  Not included are nieces, nephews,
     grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.
       7 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
       8 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
       NOTE:  Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for an organization at any
     point from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September 2005.  Estimates for the above race groups
     (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.  In
     addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classi-
     fied by ethnicity as well as by race.



     Table 3.  Volunteers by number of organizations for which volunteer activities were performed
     and selected characteristics, September 2005
                                                                                                    
                                                                                                    
                                                          Percent distribution of the number of     
                                                      organizations for which volunteer activities  
                                                                     were performed                 
                                            Total                                                   
      Characteristics in September 2005  volunteers                                                 
                                         (thousands)                                         Not    
                                                                                   Five   reporting 
                                                    Total  One   Two  Three  Four   or    number of 
                                                                                   more   organiza-
                                                                                            tions   
                                                                                                                                                                                                         
                     Sex                                                                            
                                                                                                    
     Total, both sexes..................   65,357   100.0  69.6  18.9   7.0   2.4   1.7       0.3   
       Men..............................   27,370   100.0  71.7  17.9   6.3   2.0   1.6        .3   
       Women............................   37,987   100.0  68.1  19.6   7.4   2.7   1.8        .3   
                                                                                                    
                     Age                                                                            
                                                                                                    
     Total, 16 years and over...........   65,357   100.0  69.6  18.9   7.0   2.4   1.7        .3   
       16 to 24 years...................    8,955   100.0  77.3  15.1   4.1   1.7   1.2        .6   
          16 to 19 years................    5,000   100.0  74.0  16.9   5.1   1.9   1.4        .7   
          20 to 24 years................    3,956   100.0  81.5  13.0   2.8   1.3   1.0        .5   
       25 years and over................   56,401   100.0  68.4  19.5   7.4   2.6   1.8        .2   
          25 to 34 years................    9,881   100.0  74.9  16.9   5.2   1.7   1.1        .2   
          35 to 44 years................   14,809   100.0  65.9  21.2   8.0   2.8   2.0        .2   
          45 to 54 years................   13,826   100.0  66.7  19.9   8.0   3.0   2.2        .2   
          55 to 64 years................    9,173   100.0  67.5  18.8   8.6   2.9   2.0        .2   
          65 years and over.............    8,712   100.0  69.2  19.7   6.8   2.1   1.7        .5   
                                                                                                    
         Race and Hispanic or                                                                 
           Latino ethnicity                                                                          
                                                                                                    
     White..............................   56,170   100.0  68.3  19.7   7.3   2.6   1.9        .3   
     Black or African American..........    5,879   100.0  77.9  13.9   5.2   1.4   1.2        .4   
     Asian..............................    2,055   100.0  79.3  14.7   3.9    .9    .4        .8   
     Hispanic or Latino ethnicity.......    4,511   100.0  82.3  11.8   3.8   1.1    .5        .4   
                                                                                                    
         Educational attainment (1)                                                                 
                                                                                                    
     Less than a high school diploma....    2,837   100.0  88.1   8.6   2.4    .5    .3        .1   
     High school graduates, no                                                               
        college (2).....................   12,594   100.0  78.3  15.3   4.0   1.3    .8        .2   
     Less than a bachelor's                                                                   
        degree (3)......................   16,452   100.0  70.3  18.8   7.2   2.1   1.4        .3   
     College graduates..................   24,517   100.0  59.8  23.4   9.9   3.8   2.8        .3   
                                                                                                    
               Marital status                                                                       
                                                                                                    
     Single, never married..............   14,445   100.0  75.1  16.3   4.8   1.9   1.4        .6   
     Married, spouse present............   40,611   100.0  67.5  20.1   7.5   2.7   1.9        .2   
     Other marital status (4)...........   10,301   100.0  70.7  17.7   7.8   2.1   1.5        .2   
                                                                                                    
      Presence of own children                                                              
         under 18 years (5)                                                                          
                                                                                                    
     Men:                                                                                           
       No own children under 18 years                                                               
          old...........................   17,618   100.0  73.3  16.8   5.9   2.0   1.6        .4   
       With own children under 18 years                                                             
          old...........................    9,752   100.0  69.0  19.9   7.1   2.0   1.8        .1   
     Women:                                                                                         
       No own children under 18 years                                                               
          old...........................   23,439   100.0  70.2  18.6   6.8   2.5   1.6        .4   
       With own children under 18 years                                                             
          old...........................   14,547   100.0  64.8  21.3   8.4   3.2   2.2        .2   
                                                                                                    
              Employment status                                                                     
                                                                                                    
     Civilian labor force...............   46,872   100.0  69.2  19.1   7.2   2.5   1.8        .2   
       Employed.........................   44,894   100.0  69.0  19.3   7.1   2.5   1.8        .2   
         Full time (6)..................   35,225   100.0  69.4  19.1   7.0   2.5   1.8        .2   
         Part time (7)..................    9,669   100.0  67.7  19.9   7.6   2.6   1.9        .3   
       Unemployed.......................    1,978   100.0  73.4  15.1   8.1   1.5   1.6        .2   
     Not in the labor force.............   18,485   100.0  70.8  18.5   6.4   2.3   1.5        .5   

       1 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
       2 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
       3 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
       4 Includes divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
       5 Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children.  Not included
     are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.
       6 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
       7 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
       NOTE:  Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for
     an organization at any point from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September
     2005.  Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do 
     not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.  In addition, persons whose
     ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classi-
     fied by ethnicity as well as by race.  Dash represents or rounds to zero.



     Table 4.  Volunteers by type of main organization for which volunteer activities were performed and
     selected characteristics, September 2005
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
                                      Percent distribution of volunteers by type of main organization (1)     
                                                                                                              
                                                                                                              
                               Total             Civic,                                                               
      Characteristics          volun-            polit-  Educa-  Envi-  Hos-               Social  Sport,             
       in September            teers              ical,  tional  ron-  pital  Pub-           or    hobby,         Not 
           2005                (thou-   Total   profes-    or   mental   or   lic   Reli-  commu-  cul-   Other  deter-
                                sands)          sional,  youth    or   other safe-  gious   nity   tural,        mined
                                               or inter-  ser-  animal health  ty          service or arts             
                                               national   vice   care                                                
                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
            Sex                                                                                               
                                                                                                   
    Total, both sexes........   65,357  100.0     6.4     26.2    1.8   7.7   1.3   34.8   13.4     3.3    3.5    1.7
       Men...................   27,370  100.0     8.2     24.4    1.8   5.5   2.4   34.0   14.2     4.1    3.8    1.6
       Women.................   37,987  100.0     5.0     27.6    1.8   9.2    .5   35.4   12.8     2.7    3.3    1.7
                                                                                                             
            Age                                                                                               
                                                                                                              
     Total, 16 years and                                                                                       
     over....................   65,357  100.0     6.4     26.2    1.8   7.7   1.3   34.8   13.4     3.3    3.5    1.7                                                                                               
       16 to 24 years........    8,955  100.0     4.2     32.4    2.5   8.2   1.5   27.5   14.9     2.8    3.6    2.3
          16 to 19 years.....    5,000  100.0     3.4     36.5    2.1   7.6   1.0   27.7   13.6     2.8    2.9    2.5                                                                                                    
          20 to 24 years.....    3,956  100.0     5.3     27.3    2.9   9.0   2.3   27.3   16.6     2.7    4.5    2.1
       25 years and over.....   56,401  100.0     6.7     25.2    1.7   7.6   1.2   36.0   13.2     3.4    3.5    1.5                                                                                           
          25 to 34 years.....    9,881  100.0     6.8     33.6    2.1   6.6   1.7   29.1   13.1     3.0    3.1    1.0
          35 to 44 years.....   14,809  100.0     4.8     37.9    1.3   5.8   1.1   31.2   10.5     3.0    3.1    1.3
          45 to 54 years.....   13,826  100.0     6.8     25.6    2.1   7.7   1.3   36.8   11.4     3.6    3.1    1.7
          55 to 64 years.....    9,173  100.0     8.0     13.5    2.1   8.9   1.4   41.2   15.5     3.8    4.0    1.7
          65 years and over..    8,712  100.0     8.2      6.2     .9  10.1    .8   45.0   18.0     3.7    4.7    2.3
                                                                                                              
     Race and Hispanic or                                                                                     
       Latino ethnicity                                                                                             
                                                                                                              
     White...................   56,170  100.0     6.5     26.3    2.0   8.0   1.4   33.8   13.5     3.4    3.6    1.5
     Black or African                                                                                         
        American.............    5,879  100.0     5.2     23.8     .5   4.8    .5   45.5   12.3     2.0    2.9    2.5
     Asian...................    2,055  100.0     6.0     28.6     .5   8.8    .5   33.6   13.3     3.8    2.5    2.4
     Hispanic or Latino                                                                                              
        ethnicity............    4,511  100.0     5.8     31.9     .9   5.7   1.0   37.1    9.5     2.3    3.9    1.9
                                                                                                              
     Educational attainment (2)                                                                                           
                                                                                                              
     Less than a high school                                                                                         
        diploma..............    2,837  100.0     5.2     20.9    0.4   5.7   1.5   45.5   13.5     1.2    5.0    1.0
     High school graduates, no                                                                                              
        college (3)..........   12,594  100.0     6.3     23.7    1.3   7.9   2.1   38.9   12.2     2.9    3.3    1.4
     Less than a bachelor's                                                                                              
        degree (4)...........   16,452  100.0     6.5     26.1    1.8   7.9   1.3   35.8   12.6     3.3    3.4    1.3
     College graduates.......   24,517  100.0     7.3     26.0    2.0   7.4    .7   33.5   13.9     3.9    3.5    1.8
                                                                                                              
      Marital status                                                                                          
                                                                                                 
     Single, never married...   14,445  100.0     6.1     29.3    2.7   8.5   1.6   26.1   15.4     3.6    4.1    2.5
     Married, spouse                                                                                          
        present..............   40,611  100.0     6.2     26.8    1.4   6.7   1.3   38.1   12.1     3.1    2.9    1.4
     Other marital                                                                                            
        status (5)...........   10,301  100.0     7.2     19.8    2.0  10.3    .8   34.0   15.7     3.6    5.1    1.6
                                                                                                              
      Presence of own                                                                                         
         children                                                                                             
       under 18 years                                                                                         
           (6)                                                                                                
                                                                                                              
     Men:                                                                                                     
       No own children under                                                                                        
          18 years old.......   17,618  100.0     9.6     17.9    2.1   6.5   2.7   34.3   16.2     4.3    4.5    1.9
       With own children under                                                                                               
          18 years old.......    9,752  100.0     5.8     36.1    1.1   3.7   1.8   33.4   10.6     3.9    2.6    1.0
     Women:                                                                                                   
       No own children under                                                                                         
          18 years old.......   23,439  100.0     6.2     16.6    2.4  11.7    .6   37.3   15.8     3.2    4.1    2.1
       With own children under                                                                                             
          18 years old.......   14,547  100.0     3.2     45.2    0.8   5.2   0.3   32.4    8.0     1.9    2.0    1.0
                                                                                                              
     Employment status                                                                                        
                                                                                                
    Civilian labor force.....   46,872  100.0     6.6     27.7    1.9   7.5   1.5   33.5   13.1     3.4    3.4    1.5
       Employed.......          44,894  100.0     6.7     27.4    1.9   7.6   1.5   33.6   12.9     3.4    3.4    1.6
         Full time (7).......   35,225  100.0     7.2     26.5    1.9   7.6   1.7   33.4   13.2     3.5    3.5    1.6
         Part time (8).......    9,669  100.0     4.8     30.5    2.0   7.6   1.0   34.6   11.9     2.9    3.1    1.5
       Unemployed.....           1,978  100.0     4.4     34.0    1.5   5.8   1.6   29.3   16.7     2.5    3.4     .8
     Not in the labor force..   18,485  100.0     5.9     22.6    1.5   8.0    .6   38.2   14.2     3.1    3.9    2.0

       1 Main organization is defined as the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during
     the year.  See the Technical Note for more details.
       2 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
       3 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
       4 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
       5 Includes divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
       6 Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children.  Not included are nieces,
     nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.
       7 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
       8 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
       NOTE:  Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for an organiza-
     tion at any point from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September 2005.  Estimates for the
     above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not
     presented for all races.  In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be
     of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race.



                                                                                                                                
     Table 5.  Volunteer activities for main organization for which activities were performed and selected characteristics, 
     September 2005
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
                                                 Percent distribution of volunteer activities for main organization (1)         
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
                                                                                                        Pro-            En-      
                                                                                                        vide           gage      
                                                                                          Pro-          profes-         in       
                                                                          Collect,        vide          sion-   Engage  gen-      
                                                                    Col-  make, or        coun-          al or   in     eral      
                                Total   Coach                       lect  distri-  Fund- seling,        manage- music,  lab-      
        Characteristics in      volun-  ref-                 Be an  pre-   bute    raise medi-  Provide   ment  perfor-  or;      
          September 2005        teers   eree,  Tutor         usher, pare, cloth-     or   cal   general assis-  mance,  Sup-      
                                (thou-   or      or   Mentor greet- dis-   ing     sell   care,  office  tance,  ,or    ply   Other
                                sands)  super- teach  youth  er, or tri-   crafts, items  fire/  ser-    includ- other  trans-      
                                        vise                 mini-  bute, or goods   to   EMS,   vices     ing  artis-  porta-  
                                        sports               ster    or    other   raise  or             serv-   tic    tion      
                                        teams                       serve  than    money  pro-          ing on  activ-   to      
                                                                    food   food           tec              a    ities   peo-    
                                                                                          tive           board          ple      
                                                                                          ser-            or                      
                                                                                          vices         commit-                   
                                                                                                          tee                   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                Sex                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Total, both sexes........  65,357    8.9   21.3   17.6   13.1  26.3    16.2    29.7    7.4   12.8    17.7   11.5   22.5  15.3
       Men....................  27,370   14.5   18.6   17.9   15.1  21.1    12.0    26.7    8.5    9.1    19.8    9.9   27.7  14.4
       Women..................  37,987    4.8   23.2   17.4   11.7  30.0    19.3    32.0    6.6   15.4    16.1   12.6   18.8  16.0
                                                                                                                                
                Age                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Total, 16 years and                                                                                                        
     over.....................  65,357    8.9   21.3   17.6   13.1  26.3    16.2    29.7    7.4   12.8    17.7   11.5   22.5  15.3
       16 to 24 years.........   8,955   11.6   22.0   22.1    9.4  23.5    14.5    26.7    6.2    9.2     6.1   15.7   21.6  15.3
          16 to 19 years......   5,000   12.0   21.4   20.2   10.0  25.2    14.5    29.3    3.9    9.5     4.4   16.3   23.2  14.9
          20 to 24 years......   3,956   11.1   22.8   24.6    8.7  21.4    14.5    23.3    9.1    8.8     8.1   14.9   19.7  15.8
       25 years and over......  56,401    8.4   21.2   16.9   13.7  26.7    16.5    30.2    7.6   13.4    19.5   10.8   22.7  15.3
          25 to 34 years......   9,881   11.6   24.0   20.5    9.5  23.4    15.7    29.7    7.9   10.8    12.8   12.5   22.2  15.4
          35 to 44 years......  14,809   13.0   24.6   20.9   11.0  25.5    16.4    32.9    6.6   13.2    18.9   11.3   23.1  14.0
          45 to 54 years......  13,826    9.1   21.4   18.0   15.0  27.3    15.7    32.6    8.3   13.0    21.6   10.3   24.4  14.5
          55 to 64 years......   9,173    3.4   19.4   13.9   17.1  28.5    16.7    30.1    8.7   14.4    23.8   10.7   22.9  14.3
          65 years and over...   8,712    1.5   13.6    7.3   17.7  29.9    18.6    22.9    6.8   15.9    20.6    8.7   19.6  19.9
                                                                                                                                
       Race and Hispanic or                                                                                                     
         Latino ethnicity                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
     White....................  56,170    8.9   20.8   17.0   12.9  25.9    16.0    30.6    7.2   12.9    18.5   11.0   22.9  15.7
     Black or African                                                                                                           
        American..............   5,879    9.2   24.4   24.2   17.7  29.7    18.8    23.5   10.1   12.9    13.2   14.3   19.0  12.6
     Asian....................   2,055    5.6   21.0   13.5    9.1  24.6    13.2    24.7    5.5   10.0    10.4   12.0   19.9  15.3
     Hispanic or Latino                                                                                                         
        ethnicity.............   4,511    9.6   20.7   14.6   12.1  24.1    15.5    24.1    6.7    9.7     9.1    8.8   18.4  18.5
                                                                                                                                
      Educational attainment (2)                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Less than a high school                                                                                                    
        diploma...............   2,837    4.3   13.3    8.7   14.3  32.9    16.3    22.2    5.4    6.6     6.9    6.4   23.3  19.0
     High school graduates, no                                                                                                  
        college (3)...........  12,594    8.2   16.6   14.3   14.2  30.3    16.3    30.8    5.5   12.1    13.3    9.4   23.6  17.0
     Less than a bachelor's                                                                                                     
        degree (4)............  16,452    8.6   20.4   18.1   14.1  27.9    17.5    31.0    7.5   14.5    17.6   11.7   24.9  15.6
     College graduates........  24,517    8.9   24.9   18.4   13.2  23.4    15.9    30.4    9.0   14.0    25.5   11.4   20.6  13.9
                                                                                                                                
          Marital status                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Single, never married....  14,445    9.8   20.5   19.2   10.5  23.0    14.4    26.6    7.8   10.6     9.8   13.8   21.2  15.3
     Married, spouse                                                                                                            
        present...............  40,611    9.4   22.7   17.8   14.3  26.9    16.4    31.4    7.2   13.1    20.9   11.0   23.6  14.8
     Other marital status (5).  10,301    5.3   16.6   14.5   12.3  28.4    18.1    27.8    7.8   14.7    16.2   10.2   20.2  17.6
                                                                                                                                
     Presence of own children                                                                                                   
         under 18 years (6)                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Men:                                                                                                                       
       No own children under                                                                                                    
          18 years old........  17,618    9.0   16.9   15.4   16.2  21.5    12.1    25.4    8.7    9.7    19.3   10.1   27.2  15.7
       With own children under                                                                                                  
          18 years old........   9,752   24.5   21.5   22.5   13.1  20.4    11.7    28.9    8.3    8.1    20.9    9.6   28.5  12.0
     Women:                                                                                                                     
       No own children under                                                                                                    
          18 years old........  23,439    3.5   20.0   14.4   13.0  29.4    19.1    28.6    7.4   15.6    16.0   12.3   18.0  16.1
       With own children under                                                                                                  
          18 years old........  14,547    6.9   28.4   22.0    9.6  31.0    19.6    37.4    5.4   15.2    16.4   13.0   20.1  15.9
                                                                                                                                
         Employment status                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
     Civilian labor force.....  46,872   10.5   21.8   19.4   13.0  25.4    15.7    31.3    8.2   11.9    18.8   11.5   23.6  14.2
       Employed...............  44,894   10.6   21.8   19.4   13.1  25.1    15.6    31.5    8.3   11.8    19.1   11.3   23.6  14.2
         Full time (7)........  35,225   11.4   20.9   19.2   13.4  24.4    14.9    31.7    8.5   11.5    20.0   10.9   23.4  13.7
         Part time (8)........   9,669    7.7   25.3   19.8   12.1  27.5    17.9    30.9    7.4   13.1    16.0   13.0   24.0  15.7
       Unemployed.............   1,978    8.3   20.9   19.9   10.2  31.2    18.7    27.0    6.7   14.4    11.4   14.3   23.6  14.6
     Not in the labor force...  18,485    4.7   20.0   13.1   13.4  28.7    17.5    25.8    5.5   15.0    14.9   11.4   20.0  18.3

       1 Main organization is defined as the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours during the year.  See
     the Technical Note for more details.
       2 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
       3 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
       4 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
       5 Includes divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
       6 Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children.  Not included are nieces, nephews,
     grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.
       7 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
       8 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
       NOTE:  Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for an organization at any point
     from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September 2005.  Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or
     African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.  In addition, persons whose
     ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by
     race.  Detail will sum to greater than 100 percent because respondents could choose more than one activity.  1.7 percent of
     volunteers did not report the type of activity.



     Table 6.  Volunteers by how they became involved with main organization for which volunteer activities
     were performed and selected characteristics, September 2005
                                                                                                             
                                                                                                             
                                          Percent distribution of how volunteers became involved with main   
                                                                  organization (1)                           
                                                                                                             
                                                                                                             
                                      Total                                   Was asked by:                            
       Characteristics in             volun-                                                                     Not  
         September 2005               teers         Approach-                                                  report-
                                     (thou-           ed the                  Rela-   Someone                  ing how
                                      sands) Total   organi-         Boss or  tive,    in the           Other  became
                                                     zation   Total  employ-  friend,  organi-    Some-           in-       
                                                               (2)     er      or      zation/    one           volved
                                                                              co-work- school     else                   
                                                                                er                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
              Sex                                                                                            
                                                                                                             
     Total, both sexes..........      65,357  100.0    40.3    42.8    1.5     14.1     25.9       1.2   14.5    2.4 
       Men......................      27,370  100.0    39.1    43.8    1.5     15.4     25.6       1.1   14.5    2.6 
       Women....................      37,987  100.0    41.1    42.1    1.4     13.2     26.1       1.3   14.5    2.2 
                                                                                                             
              Age                                                                                            
                                                                                                             
     Total, 16 years and                                                                                     
     over.......................      65,357  100.0    40.3    42.8    1.5     14.1     25.9       1.2   14.5    2.4 
       16 to 24 years...........       8,955  100.0    39.6    40.6    1.3     16.5     21.1       1.6   16.7    3.1 
          16 to 19 years........       5,000  100.0    40.0    40.0     .5     14.8     23.1       1.4   16.7    3.3 
          20 to 24 years........       3,956  100.0    39.0    41.5    2.3     18.7     18.4       1.8   16.7    2.9 
       25 years and over........      56,401  100.0    40.4    43.2    1.5     13.7     26.7       1.1   14.2    2.2 
          25 to 34 years........       9,881  100.0    39.4    44.9    2.6     15.3     25.5       1.4   13.8    1.9 
          35 to 44 years........      14,809  100.0    40.2    43.3    1.5     13.3     27.5        .9   14.5    2.0 
          45 to 54 years........      13,826  100.0    40.2    43.7    1.6     12.8     28.0       1.0   13.9    2.2 
          55 to 64 years........       9,173  100.0    40.6    42.4    1.2     14.1     25.8       1.1   14.5    2.6 
          65 years and over.....       8,712  100.0    42.1    41.0     .4     13.7     25.2       1.6   14.2    2.7 
                                                                                                             
      Race and Hispanic or                                                                                   
       Latino ethnicity                                                                                      
                                                                                                             
     White......................      56,170  100.0    40.3    43.5    1.5     14.4     26.3       1.2   14.2    2.1 
     Black or African American..       5,879  100.0    38.2    39.4    1.5     13.0     23.6       1.3   17.9    4.4 
     Asian......................       2,055  100.0    47.0    34.0    1.6     10.8     20.5        .9   14.4    4.6 
     Hispanic or Latino                                                                                      
        ethnicity...............       4,511  100.0    40.2    43.7    1.9     14.9     24.7       1.8   13.7    2.4 
                                                                                                             
     Educational attainment (3)                                                                                   
                                                                                                             
     Less than a high school                                                                                         
        diploma.................       2,837  100.0    40.1    45.0     .7     15.6     26.6       1.8   12.4    2.5 
     High school graduates, no                                                                                  
        college (4).............      12,594  100.0    39.1    44.3    1.3     15.0     26.7       1.2   14.5    2.1 
     Less than a bachelor's                                                                                  
        degree (5)..............      16,452  100.0    39.6    43.3    1.5     14.1     26.2       1.2   14.9    2.1 
     College graduates..........      24,517  100.0    41.7    42.3    1.7     12.6     26.9       0.9   13.7    2.4 
                                                                                                             
         Marital status                                                                                      
                                                                                                
    Single, never married.......      14,445  100.0    39.7    40.4    1.6     16.6     20.4       1.6   16.4    3.5 
    Married, spouse present.....      40,611  100.0    40.6    43.8    1.3     13.0     28.3       1.0   13.7    1.9 
    Other marital status (6)....      10,301  100.0    40.1    42.5    1.9     15.1     23.9       1.5   14.9    2.5 
                                                                                                             
        Presence of own                                                                                      
       children under 18                                                                                     
           years (7)                                                                                         
                                                                                                             
     Men:                                                                                                    
       No own children under 18                                                                                       
          years old.............      17,618  100.0    38.8    43.3    1.5     16.8     23.5       1.2   14.8    3.1 
       With own children under 18                                                                                     
          years old.............       9,752  100.0    39.7    44.8    1.4     13.0     29.3        .8   13.9    1.6 
     Women:                                                                                                  
       No own children under 18                                                                                       
          years old.............      23,439  100.0    42.0    40.3    1.7     14.8     22.3       1.4   15.0    2.7 
       With own children under 18                                                                                     
          years old.............      14,547  100.0    39.7    45.0    1.1     10.5     32.2       1.1   13.8    1.4 
                                                                                                             
       Employment status                                                                                     
                                                                                               
    Civilian labor force........      46,872  100.0    39.5    43.8    1.9     14.6     26.0       1.1   14.5    2.2 
      Employed..................      44,894  100.0    39.6    43.7    2.0     14.5     26.0       1.0   14.5    2.2 
        Full time (8)...........      35,225  100.0    39.0    44.1    2.3     15.0     25.7        .9   14.6    2.3 
        Part time (9)...........       9,669  100.0    41.8    42.3     .8     12.7     27.3       1.4   14.0    1.9 
      Unemployed................       1,978  100.0    38.6    44.2     .4     15.8     25.7       2.0   15.6    1.6 
    Not in the labor  force.....      18,485  100.0    42.3    40.5     .3     13.0     25.6       1.5   14.5    2.8 

       1 Main organization is defined as the organization for which the volunteer worked the most hours
     during the year.  See the Technical Note for more details.
       2 Includes persons who did not specify who asked them to volunteer, not shown separately.
       3 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
       4 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
       5 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
       6 Includes divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
       7 Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children.  Not included are nieces,
     nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.
       8 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
       9 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
       NOTE:  Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for an
     organization at any point from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September 2005. 
     Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals
     because data are not presented for all races.  In addition, persons whose ethnicity is identified as
     Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race.



     Table 7.  Main reason for not volunteering last year as reported by non-volunteers who had volunteered in the past 
     by selected characteristics, September 2005
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                                        Percent distribution of main reason for not volunteering             
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                             
                                                         Family                                   Moved,    No            Not 
                                                         respon-                     No          lack of  longer        report-
         Characteristics in        Total        Burnout  sibil- Health             longer         infor- required/        ing 
           September 2005         (thou-          not    ities    or    Lack  No      a   Wasn't mation,   not          reason
                                   sands) Total enjoy-     or   medical  of   one  member inter- trans-   rele-   Other   for 
                                    (1)          able    child-  prob-  time asked of the ested   por-   vant to          not 
                                                previ-    care   lems-             organi-       tation, current        volun-
                                                 ously    prob-                    zation           or     life          teer- 
                                                          lems                                   expense  situa-          ing  
                                                                                                   (2)     tion               
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           
                Sex                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                             
     Total, both sexes.........   37,677  100.0    2.0     9.3    15.2  45.6   2.9    1.9    3.9    3.9     4.9    9.0    1.3
       Men.....................   16,640  100.0    2.0     5.4    11.5  50.9   3.5    2.0    4.8    3.8     4.9    9.8    1.3
       Women...................   21,037  100.0    2.0    12.4    18.1  41.3   2.5    1.8    3.3    3.9     4.9    8.4    1.4
                                                                                                                             
                Age                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                             
                                                                                                         
    Total, 16 years and
       over....................   37,677  100.0    2.0     9.3    15.2  45.6   2.9    1.9    3.9    3.9     4.9    9.0    1.3
       16 to 24 years..........    4,569  100.0     .7     4.5      .8  64.5   3.1    2.1    4.5    5.8     2.2    9.6    2.0
          16 to 19 years.......    1,345  100.0    1.5     3.2      .7  57.5   4.6    3.4    6.2    7.9     3.2    9.2    2.7
          20 to 24 years.......    3,224  100.0     .4     5.1      .8  67.5   2.5    1.6    3.7    4.9     1.8    9.8    1.8
       25 years and over.......   33,108  100.0    2.2    10.0    17.2  42.9   2.9    1.8    3.8    3.6     5.3    8.9    1.3
          25 to 34 years.......    6,020  100.0    1.1    14.3     2.2  59.0   2.8    1.5    2.6    4.7     1.9    8.4    1.4
          35 to 44 years.......    6,236  100.0    1.9    12.7     5.2  57.0   3.3    2.0    2.4    3.2     4.3    7.2     .8
          45 to 54 years.......    7,163  100.0    1.8     8.2     9.8  52.4   3.0    2.2    3.1    3.9     6.3    7.7    1.5
          55 to 64 years.......    5,992  100.0    3.0     9.5    15.8  40.0   2.9    2.3    5.5    3.3     6.6    9.6    1.5
          65 years and over....    7,696  100.0    3.1     6.5    46.5  12.4   2.5    1.3    5.4    3.1     6.7   11.5    1.1
                                                                                                                             
        Race and Hispanic or                                                                                                 
         Latino ethnicity                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                             
     White.....................   32,446  100.0    2.0     9.2    15.4  45.5   2.9    1.8    4.0    3.7     5.2    9.1    1.3
     Black or African                                                                                                        
        American...............    3,199  100.0    3.0    10.1    16.9  42.1   3.5    2.1    4.2    4.4     2.9    8.6    2.3
     Asian.....................    1,157  100.0     .6    11.4     7.6  57.3   1.5    1.5    1.6    5.1     3.4    8.4    1.7
     Hispanic or Latino                                                                                                      
        ethnicity..............    2,704  100.0    1.6    11.0     9.8  47.6   4.4    3.2    3.6    5.9     3.9    7.5    1.4
                                                                                                                             
     Educational attainment (3)                                                                                              
                                                                                                                             
     Less than a high school                                                                                                 
        diploma................    2,975  100.0    1.6     9.5    39.7  20.3   3.5    1.9    3.2    4.0     5.3    9.7    1.3
     High school graduates, no                                                                                               
        college (4)............    9,677  100.0    2.6     9.4    21.9  35.1   3.4    2.5    4.4    3.3     7.1    9.2    1.1
     Less than a bachelor's                                                                                                  
        degree (5).............   10,087  100.0    2.5    10.1    15.0  45.0   3.1    1.7    4.2    3.8     4.9    8.5    1.2
     College graduates.........   10,369  100.0    1.8    10.6     8.5  54.7   2.1    1.4    3.1    3.6     3.9    8.9    1.4
                                                                                                                             
           Marital status                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                             
     Single, never married.....    8,896  100.0    1.4     5.0     5.4  60.1   3.6    1.8    4.6    4.9     2.4    8.8    2.1
     Married, spouse present...   20,010  100.0    1.9    11.9    13.2  45.1   2.8    2.0    3.9    3.2     6.1    8.7    1.2
     Other marital status (6)..    8,772  100.0    2.9     7.9    29.7  31.7   2.7    1.6    3.3    4.5     4.6   10.1     .9
                                                                                                                             
      Presence of own children                                                                                               
         under 18 years (7)                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                             
     Men:                                                                                                                    
       No own children under 18                                                                                              
          years old............   13,095  100.0    2.2     3.5    13.6  48.2   3.7    1.9    5.5    4.1     5.4   10.4    1.4
       With own children under                                                                                               
          18 years old.........    3,545  100.0    1.5    12.3     3.8  61.0   2.6    2.4    2.0    2.7     3.1    7.5    1.0
     Women:                                                                                                                  
       No own children under 18                                                                                              
          years old............   15,941  100.0    2.3     7.6    22.5  40.0   2.5    1.8    3.7    4.2     5.3    8.8    1.4
       With own children under                                                                                               
          18 years old.........    5,097  100.0    1.2    27.4     4.4  45.3   2.4    1.8    1.8    3.2     3.7    7.4    1.3
                                                                                                                             
         Employment status                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                             
     Civilian labor force......   25,258  100.0    1.9     8.7     3.3  59.6   3.0    1.9    3.4    3.6     4.6    8.5    1.4
       Employed................   24,016  100.0    2.0     8.5     3.2  60.7   2.9    1.9    3.3    3.4     4.6    8.3    1.4
         Full time (8).........   19,761  100.0    1.8     7.9     2.5  63.6   2.8    1.9    2.8    3.4     4.5    7.7    1.2
         Part time (9).........    4,254  100.0    2.7    11.7     6.4  47.2   3.4    1.7    5.4    3.6     4.9   11.0    2.0
       Unemployed..............    1,242  100.0    1.1    11.6     4.8  38.7   5.4    3.8    6.0    8.2     5.3   13.8    1.3
     Not in the labor force....   12,420  100.0    2.3    10.6    39.5  17.0   2.7    1.7    5.0    4.4     5.5   10.1    1.3

       1 Data refer to persons who did not volunteer during the survey reference period (September 2004-September 2005), but
     who had volunteered in the past.
       2 Includes the categories lack of information about opportunities, lack of transportation, lack of paid expenses,
     moved in the last year, and opportunities don't match interest or skills.
       3 Data refer to persons 25 years and over.
       4 Includes high school diploma or equivalent.
       5 Includes the categories, some college, no degree; and associate degree.
       6 Includes divorced, separated, and widowed persons.
       7 Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children.  Not included are nieces, nephews,
     grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.
       8 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
       9 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs.
       NOTE:  Data on volunteers relate to persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities for an organization at any
     point from September 1, 2004, through the survey period in September 2005. Estimates for the above race groups (white,
     black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.  In addition,
     persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and, therefore, are classified by
     ethnicity as well as by race.