Technical information:    (202) 691-6378     USDL 02-686
                 http://www.bls.gov/cps/
                                             For release: 10:00 A.M. EST
Media contact:                  691-5902     Wednesday, December 18, 2002
   

                     VOLUNTEERING IN THE UNITED STATES
   
  
   About 59 million people did volunteer work at some point from September
2001 to September 2002, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Depart-
ment of Labor reported today.  These new data on volunteer service were 
collected through a supplement to the September 2002 Current Population 
Survey (CPS).  That supplement has generated information from households 
across the country regarding the extent and type of volunteer service done 
through or for organizations.  The survey found that slightly more than 1 in 
4 persons age 16 and over volunteered.

   The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that obtains 
information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian non-
institutional population age 16 and over.  For more information about the 
volunteer supplement, see the Technical Note.  Some of the highlights from 
the 2002 data include:

   -- The volunteer rate was higher among women than men.

   -- Employed persons were more likely to volunteer than persons who
      were unemployed or not in the labor force.
   
   -- Among persons 25 years of age and over, the volunteer rate of
      college graduates was four times that of high school dropouts.
    
   -- The main organization for which the majority of volunteers
      worked was either religious or educational/youth-service related.
    
   -- Volunteers spent a median of 52 hours volunteering during the
      year.

Characteristics of Volunteers
   
   Fifty-nine million persons, or 27.6 percent of the civilian noninstitu-
tional population age 16 and over, volunteered through or for organizations 
at some point during the period from September 2001 to September 2002.  The 
incidence of volunteering was higher among women (31.1 percent) than among 
men (23.8 percent), a relationship that held across age groups, education 
levels, and other major characteristics.  (See table 1.)
   
   Among the age groups, 35- to 54-year olds were the most likely to
volunteer, with 1 in 3 having donated their time.  Volunteer rates were
lowest among persons age 65 years and over (22.7 percent) and among those
in their early twenties (18.2 percent).  Teenagers had a relatively high
volunteer rate, 26.9 percent, perhaps reflecting an emphasis on volunteer
activities in schools.

   Among persons 25 years of age and over, 43.6 percent of college graduates 
volunteered during the year, double the volunteer rate of high school 
graduates with no college experience and more than four times the rate of 
high school dropouts.
   
                                  - 2 - 

   Parents with children under age 18 were more likely to volunteer than
persons with no children of that age, with volunteer rates of 36.5 percent
and 23.7 percent, respectively.  Volunteer rates were higher among married
persons (32.7 percent) than among singles (21.2 percent) and persons of
other marital status (22.1 percent).
   
   Overall, nearly 30 percent of all employed persons had volunteered
during the year.  By comparison, the volunteer rates of persons who were
unemployed  (25.3 percent) or not in the labor force (23.7 percent) were
lower.  Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than full-
time workers to have participated in volunteer activities--35.5 percent 
and 28.5 percent, respectively.
   
Total Annual Hours Spent Volunteering
   
   Volunteers spent a median of 52 hours doing volunteer activities during
the period from September 2001 to September 2002.  While 28.2 percent of
volunteers reported spending 100 to 499 hours doing volunteer work, 21.5
percent spent only 1 to 14 hours volunteering.  (See table 2.)
   
   Among the age groups, volunteers age 65 and over devoted the most time--a 
median of 96 hours--to volunteer activities.  Those age 25 to 34 years spent 
the least time, volunteering a median of 34 hours during the year.
   
Number and Type of Organizations
   
   Most volunteers provided their services through or for one or two
organizations--69.1 percent and 19.3 percent, respectively.  (See table 3.)
   
   The main organization--the organization for which the volunteer worked
the most hours during the year--for the majority of volunteers was either
religious (33.9 percent) or educational/youth-service related (27.2 percent).  
Another 12.1 percent of volunteers performed activities mainly for social or 
community service organizations, and 8.6 percent volunteered the most hours 
for hospitals or other health organizations.  (See table 4.)
   
   Older volunteers were more likely to volunteer mainly for religious
organizations, such as churches, than their younger counterparts.  For
example, 45.2 percent of volunteers age 65 and over performed volunteer
activities mainly through or for a religious organization, compared with
28.6 percent of volunteers age 25 to 34 years.
   
   Among volunteers with children under 18 years, 45.9 percent of mothers
and 37.9 percent of fathers volunteered mainly for an educational/youth-
service related organization, such as a school or little league.  Parents
were more than twice as likely to volunteer for such organizations as
persons with no children of that age.  Conversely, volunteers with no
children under 18 were about twice as likely as parents to volunteer for 
a social or community service organization, such as a homeless shelter or 
a senior citizen center.
   
                                  - 3 -

Volunteer Activities for Main Organization
   
   Volunteers performed many different types of activities.  Among the 
more commonly reported (volunteers could report more than one activity) 
were teaching or coaching (24.4 percent); canvassing, campaigning, or
fundraising (22.9 percent); collecting, making, serving, or delivering
goods (22.2 percent); and being a board, committee, or neighborhood
association member (16.3 percent).  Forty-three percent of volunteers
indicated that their activities fell into the "catch-all" category of
organize, supervise, or help with events or activities.  (See table 5.)
   
   The distribution of activities differed across major demographic groups.
For example, parents of children under 18 were much more likely to teach or
coach than were persons with no children of that age, and college graduates
were more than twice as likely as those with less than a high school
diploma to do consulting or administrative work.
   
How Volunteers Became Involved with Main Organization
   
   Two in five volunteers became involved with the main organization for
which they did volunteer work on their own initiative:  That is, they
approached the organization.  Another 2 in 5 were asked to become a
volunteer, most often by somebody in the organization.  (See table 6.)
   
Technical Note

   The data in this release were collected through a supplement to the
September 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS).  The CPS--a monthly survey
of about 60,000 households, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the
Bureau of Labor Statistics--focuses on obtaining information on employment
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 characteristics of
volunteers in the United States.
   
   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 depending 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.
   
Volunteer questions and concepts
   
   In the September 2002 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.)  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 three-quarters 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,
total hours spent volunteering, how they became involved with the main
organization for which they volunteered, and the type of activities they
performed for the main organization.  Non-volunteers were asked a question
about what would encourage them to volunteer.
   
   The reference period for the questions on volunteering was about 1 year,
from September 1, 2001, through the survey week in September 2002.  The
reference period for other characteristics, such as labor force status,
educational attainment, and marital status, refer to the survey reference
week in September 2002.  It is possible that these characteristics were
different at the time volunteer activities were performed.
   
   The last CPS supplement on volunteer activities was conducted in May
1989.  However, the surveys are not directly comparable.  The wording of
the questions differed between the two surveys, and the reference periods
for volunteer activity were not specified in the same way.  Furthermore,
the September 2002 survey collected information from volunteers that was
not obtained in May 1989, such as the type of activities performed for
their main organization and how they became involved.
   
Definitions
   
   Volunteers are persons who performed unpaid volunteer activities at any
point from September 1, 2001, through the survey period in September 2002.
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 teaches acting to children 
through a local theater would be considered a volunteer.  A woman who, on her 
own, organizes softball games for the children in her neighborhood would not 
be counted as a volunteer for the purpose of this survey.
   
   Organizations are associations, societies, or groups of people who share
a common interest.  Examples include churches, youth groups, and civic 
organizations.  For the purpose of this study, organizations are classified 
into eight major categories, including religious, youth, and social or 
community service organizations.  (See table 4.)
   
   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 res-
pondents 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.

Table 1.  Volunteers by selected characteristics, September 2002
 
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                                          Total, both sexes                  Men                        Women           
                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                        
                                                   Volunteers                  Volunteers                  Volunteers   
           Characteristics           Civilian                    Civilian                    Civilian                  
          in September 2002          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...........  214,429   59,163    27.6    103,148   24,514    23.8    111,281   34,649    31.1  
   16 to 24 years...................   35,470    7,860    22.2     17,851    3,318    18.6     17,619    4,543    25.8  
      16 to 19 years................   16,158    4,346    26.9      8,214    1,888    23.0      7,944    2,458    30.9  
      20 to 24 years................   19,312    3,515    18.2      9,637    1,430    14.8      9,675    2,085    21.5  
   25 years and over................  178,959   51,303    28.7     85,298   21,197    24.9     93,662   30,106    32.1  
      25 to 34 years................   36,907    9,279    25.1     17,983    3,536    19.7     18,924    5,743    30.3  
      35 to 44 years................   43,888   15,089    34.4     21,661    6,210    28.7     22,226    8,879    39.9  
      45 to 54 years................   39,172   12,296    31.4     19,098    5,340    28.0     20,075    6,956    34.7  
      55 to 64 years................   25,993    7,146    27.5     12,431    3,098    24.9     13,562    4,048    29.8  
      65 years and over.............   32,998    7,492    22.7     14,124    3,012    21.3     18,874    4,480    23.7  
                                                                                                                        
      Race and Hispanic origin                                                                                          
                                                                                                                        
 White..............................  177,628   52,164    29.4     86,321   21,698    25.1     91,307   30,466    33.4  
 Black..............................   26,039    4,987    19.2     11,696    1,955    16.7     14,344    3,032    21.1  
 Hispanic origin....................   24,065    3,769    15.7     11,845    1,522    12.9     12,220    2,246    18.4  
                                                                                                                        
      Educational attainment(1)                                                                                         
                                                                                                                        
 Less than a high school diploma....   26,999    2,734    10.1     12,970    1,149     8.9     14,029    1,585    11.3  
 High school graduate, no college(2)   57,664   12,293    21.3     26,772    4,612    17.2     30,892    7,681    24.9  
 Less than a bachelor's degree(3)...   45,314   14,919    32.9     20,650    5,734    27.8     24,664    9,185    37.2  
 College graduates..................   48,982   21,357    43.6     24,906    9,702    39.0     24,077   11,655    48.4  
                                                                                                                        
           Marital status                                                                                               
                                                                                                                        
 Single, never married..............   57,316   12,177    21.2     30,621    5,300    17.3     26,694    6,877    25.8  
 Married, spouse present............  115,706   37,823    32.7     58,456   16,764    28.7     57,250   21,059    36.8  
 Other marital status(4)............   41,408    9,163    22.1     14,071    2,450    17.4     27,337    6,713    24.6  
                                                                                                                        
  Presence of own children under 18                                                                                     
              years(5)                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                        
 Without own children under 18......  149,204   35,371    23.7     74,167   15,143    20.4     75,037   20,227    27.0  
 With own children under 18.........   65,225   23,793    36.5     28,981    9,371    32.3     36,244   14,421    39.8  
                                                                                                                        
          Employment status                                                                                             
                                                                                                                        
 Civilian labor force...............  143,761   42,396    29.5     76,680   19,539    25.5     67,081   22,857    34.1  
   Employed.........................  135,794   40,379    29.7     72,511   18,684    25.8     63,283   21,695    34.3  
     Full time(6)...................  111,905   31,910    28.5     64,719   16,683    25.8     47,186   15,227    32.3  
     Part time(7)...................   23,889    8,469    35.5      7,792    2,001    25.7     16,097    6,468    40.2  
   Unemployed.......................    7,968    2,016    25.3      4,170      855    20.5      3,798    1,162    30.6  
 Not in the labor force.............   70,668   16,767    23.7     26,468    4,976    18.8     44,200   11,792    26.7  

   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, 2001, through the survey period in September 2002.  Detail for the above race and 
 Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and 
 Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.



 Table 2.  Volunteers by annual hours of volunteer activities and selected characteristics, September 2002
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                                                 Percent distribution of total annual hours spent volunteering         
                                                                     at all organizations                              
                                        Total                                                                          
                                     volunteers                                                                 Median 
         Characteristics             (thousands)                                                         Not    annual 
        in September 2002                                                              100 to    500   report-  hours(1)
                                                  Total                                 499     hours    ing            
                                                            1 to    15 to    50 to     hours     and    annual          
                                                             14       49       99               over    hours          
                                                           hours    hours    hours                                                                                                                                                                           
                 Sex                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                       
 Total, both sexes..................   59,163     100.0     21.5     24.1     14.8     28.2      5.9      5.5     52   
   Men..............................   24,514     100.0     21.1     23.4     14.5     28.9      6.6      5.4     52   
   Women............................   34,649     100.0     21.8     24.6     15.0     27.6      5.4      5.6     50   
                                                                                                                       
                 Age                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                       
 Total, 16 years and over...........   59,163     100.0     21.5     24.1     14.8     28.2      5.9      5.5     52   
   16 to 24 years...................    7,860     100.0     25.2     27.9     14.2     22.0      4.1      6.6     40   
      16 to 19 years................    4,346     100.0     23.7     29.4     15.2     22.0      2.8      6.9     40   
      20 to 24 years................    3,515     100.0     27.1     26.0     12.9     22.0      5.7      6.3     36   
   25 years and over................   51,303     100.0     21.0     23.5     14.9     29.1      6.2      5.3     52   
      25 to 34 years................    9,279     100.0     29.2     26.5     13.6     23.2      3.5      4.0     34   
      35 to 44 years................   15,089     100.0     21.0     24.8     16.3     27.8      5.8      4.3     52   
      45 to 54 years................   12,296     100.0     20.5     23.0     15.9     29.7      5.7      5.3     53   
      55 to 64 years................    7,146     100.0     18.1     21.9     14.2     32.2      7.4      6.1     60   
      65 years and over.............    7,492     100.0     14.2     19.4     12.8     35.4     10.0      8.2     96   
                                                                                                                       
      Race and Hispanic origin                                                                                         
                                                                                                                       
 White..............................   52,164     100.0     21.4     24.4     15.1     28.1      5.8      5.2     52   
 Black..............................    4,987     100.0     21.0     22.2     12.6     29.8      7.0      7.5     52   
 Hispanic origin....................    3,769     100.0     22.9     26.6     14.9     24.3      5.2      6.0     44   
                                                                                                                       
      Educational attainment(2)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                       
 Less than a high school diploma....    2,734     100.0     26.0     21.6     13.8     25.3      6.1      7.2     48   
 High school graduate, no college(3)   12,293     100.0     24.1     22.7     14.0     26.8      6.1      6.3     50   
 Less than a bachelor's degree(4)...   14,919     100.0     21.1     23.3     14.5     29.7      6.4      5.1     52   
 College graduates..................   21,357     100.0     18.4     24.4     15.8     30.6      6.2      4.7     60   
                                                                                                                       
           Marital status                                                                                              
                                                                                                                       
 Single, never married..............   12,177     100.0     24.3     27.3     14.4     23.1      4.7      6.1     40   
 Married, spouse present............   37,823     100.0     20.8     23.2     15.1     29.8      6.0      5.2     53   
 Other marital status(5)............    9,163     100.0     20.8     23.6     14.1     28.5      7.1      6.0     52   
                                                                                                                       
      Presence of own children                                                                                         
          under 18 years(6)                                                                                            
                                                                                                                       
 Men:                                                                                                                  
   No own children under 18 years                                                                                      
    old............................    15,143     100.0     20.6     23.6     13.9     28.5      7.2      6.2     52   
   With own children under 18 years                                                                                    
    old............................     9,371     100.0     21.9     23.1     15.4     29.7      5.7      4.1     52   
 Women:                                                                                                                
   No own children under 18 years                                                                                      
    old............................    20,227     100.0     20.8     24.6     14.4     28.2      5.5      6.4     52   
   With own children under 18 years                                                                                    
    old............................    14,421     100.0     23.2     24.4     15.9     26.9      5.2      4.4     50   
                                                                                                                       
          Employment status                                                                                            
                                                                                                                       
 Civilian labor force...............   42,396     100.0     23.2     25.0     15.2     26.8      4.9      4.9     48   
   Employed.........................   40,379     100.0     23.3     25.0     15.2     26.8      4.8      4.9     48   
     Full time(7)...................   31,910     100.0     24.0     25.3     14.8     26.2      4.8      4.9     46   
     Part time(8)...................    8,469     100.0     20.9     23.7     16.5     28.8      5.1      5.0     52   
   Unemployed.......................    2,016     100.0     21.8     25.7     15.3     27.2      5.9      4.1     50   
 Not in the labor force.............   16,767     100.0     17.2     21.7     13.8     31.8      8.5      7.0     72   

   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, 2001, through the survey period in September 2002.  Detail for the above race and 
 Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and 
 Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.



 Table 3.  Volunteers by number of organizations for which volunteer activities were performed
 and selected characteristics, September 2002
                                                                                                
                                                                                                
                                                  Percent distribution of the number of     
                                                  organizations for which volunteer             
                                                      activities were performed                 
                                        Total                                                   
          Characteristics            volunteers                                                 
         in September 2002           (thousands)                                          Not    
                                                                               Five    reporting 
                                                Total  One   Two  Three  Four   or     number of 
                                                                               more     organi-
                                                                                        zations     
                                                                                                                                                                                                
                 Sex                                                                            
                                                                                                
 Total, both sexes..................   59,163   100.0  69.1  19.3   7.4   2.4   1.7       0.2   
   Men..............................   24,514   100.0  70.6  18.5   6.7   2.2   1.7        .2   
   Women............................   34,649   100.0  68.1  19.8   7.9   2.5   1.7        .1   
                                                                                                
                 Age                                                                            
                                                                                                
 Total, 16 years and over...........   59,163   100.0  69.1  19.3   7.4   2.4   1.7        .2   
   16 to 24 years...................    7,860   100.0  76.9  15.5   4.9   1.2   1.0        .4   
      16 to 19 years................    4,346   100.0  74.5  16.8   5.9   1.4    .8        .5   
      20 to 24 years................    3,515   100.0  79.9  13.9   3.7   1.0   1.1        .4   
   25 years and over................   51,303   100.0  67.9  19.8   7.7   2.5   1.8        .1   
      25 to 34 years................    9,279   100.0  74.8  17.4   5.2   1.4   1.0        .2   
      35 to 44 years................   15,089   100.0  64.9  22.2   8.3   2.7   1.8       -    
      45 to 54 years................   12,296   100.0  65.6  20.1   8.9   3.1   2.2        .2   
      55 to 64 years................    7,146   100.0  66.7  19.2   8.5   3.1   2.4       -     
      65 years and over.............    7,492   100.0  70.6  18.2   7.1   2.2   1.7        .2   
                                                                                                
      Race and Hispanic origin                                                                  
                                                                                                
 White..............................   52,164   100.0  68.0  20.0   7.7   2.5   1.8        .2   
 Black..............................    4,987   100.0  77.4  14.1   5.4   1.6   1.4        .1   
 Hispanic origin....................    3,769   100.0  81.1  13.7   3.3   1.0    .8        .1   
                                                                                                
      Educational attainment(1)                                                                 
                                                                                                
 Less than a high school diploma....    2,734   100.0  85.8  11.2   2.3    .2    .4        .1   
 High school graduate, no college(2)   12,293   100.0  77.2  16.5   4.5   1.2    .4        .1   
 Less than a bachelor's degree(3)...   14,919   100.0  70.5  18.6   6.9   2.3   1.6        .1   
 College graduates..................   21,357   100.0  58.5  23.7  10.8   3.8   3.0        .2   
                                                                                                
           Marital status                                                                       
                                                                                                
 Single, never married..............   12,177   100.0  74.5  16.3   6.0   1.4   1.4        .4   
 Married, spouse present............   37,823   100.0  67.4  20.3   7.7   2.7   1.8        .1   
 Other marital status(4)............    9,163   100.0  69.3  18.9   7.6   2.4   1.8       -     
                                                                                                
      Presence of own children                                                                  
          under 18 years(5)                                                                     
                                                                                                
 Men:                                                                                           
   No own children under 18 years                                                               
    old.............................   15,143   100.0  71.7  17.5   6.5   2.2   1.9        .2   
   With own children under 18 years                                                             
    old.............................    9,371   100.0  68.9  20.1   7.0   2.3   1.4        .2   
 Women:                                                                                         
   No own children under 18 years                                                               
    old.............................   20,227   100.0  70.5  18.4   7.2   2.2   1.5        .2   
   With own children under 18 years                                                             
    old.............................   14,421   100.0  64.7  21.7   8.8   2.8   1.9        .1   
                                                                                                
          Employment status                                                                     
                                                                                                
 Civilian labor force...............   42,396   100.0  68.7  19.5   7.6   2.3   1.7        .2   
   Employed.........................   40,379   100.0  68.4  19.6   7.7   2.4   1.8        .2   
     Full time(6)...................   31,910   100.0  68.8  19.5   7.5   2.4   1.7        .1   
     Part time(7)...................    8,469   100.0  66.8  20.0   8.6   2.3   2.0        .3   
   Unemployed.......................    2,016   100.0  74.3  17.4   5.3   1.7   1.2       -     
 Not in the labor force.............   16,767   100.0  70.3  18.7   6.7   2.5   1.7        .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, 2001, through the survey period in September 2002. 
 Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for
 the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and
 black population groups.  Dash represents or rounds to zero.



 Table 4.  Volunteers by type of main organization for which volunteer activities were performed and selected
 characteristics, September 2002
                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  
                                            Percent distribution of volunteers by type of main organization(1)    
                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                  
                                 Total         Civic,                                                               
                                volun-        politi- Educa- Envi-  Hos-               Social  Sport,                
          Characteristics        teers          cal,  tional  ron-  pital Pub-           or    hobby,               
         in September 2002      (thou-        profes-   or   mental   or   lic  Reli-  commu-  cul-          Not  
                                sands)  Total sional, youth    or   other safe- gious   nity   tural, Other deter-
                                                 or    ser-  animal health  ty          ser-     or         mined  
                                               inter-  vice   care                      vice    arts              
                                              nation-                                                             
                                                 al                                                               
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
              Sex                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                  
 Total, both sexes.............  59,163 100.0    6.1    27.2    1.6   8.6   1.4   33.9   12.1   4.0   3.5     1.5 
   Men.........................  24,514 100.0    7.6    25.5    1.7   6.7   2.3   33.0   12.7   5.0   3.9     1.6 
   Women.......................  34,649 100.0    5.1    28.5    1.6  10.0    .8   34.5   11.7   3.2   3.3     1.4 
                                                                                                                  
              Age                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                  
 Total, 16 years and over......  59,163 100.0    6.1    27.2    1.6   8.6   1.4   33.9   12.1   4.0   3.5     1.5 
   16 to 24 years..............   7,860 100.0    4.8    31.0    1.8   9.0   1.7   30.5   12.9   3.1   3.5     1.6 
      16 to 19 years...........   4,346 100.0    4.6    34.1    1.6   7.7   1.0   30.7   13.2   3.1   2.8     1.2 
      20 to 24 years...........   3,515 100.0    5.0    27.3    2.0  10.7   2.5   30.3   12.6   3.0   4.4     2.2 
   25 years and over...........  51,303 100.0    6.3    26.7    1.6   8.6   1.4   34.4   12.0   4.1   3.5     1.5 
      25 to 34 years...........   9,279 100.0    5.5    34.3    1.8   8.6   1.9   28.6   11.5   3.2   3.4     1.1 
      35 to 44 years...........  15,089 100.0    4.6    39.3    1.4   6.6   1.2   29.3    9.5   3.9   3.1     1.0 
      45 to 54 years...........  12,296 100.0    6.4    25.5    1.6   8.7   1.4   34.5   11.0   5.1   3.8     2.0 
      55 to 64 years...........   7,146 100.0    9.3    13.0    2.3  10.4   1.1   41.1   13.4   4.0   3.8     1.7 
      65 years and over........   7,492 100.0    7.9     6.5    1.0  10.5   1.2   45.2   17.6   4.2   4.0     2.0 
                                                                                                                  
    Race and Hispanic origin                                                                                      
                                                                                                                  
 White.........................  52,164 100.0    6.4    27.2    1.8   8.8   1.5   32.9   12.2   4.1   3.6     1.4 
 Black.........................   4,987 100.0    3.5    27.4     .3   6.7    .6   45.3   10.0   1.6   2.9     1.7 
 Hispanic origin...............   3,769 100.0    4.2    32.9     .6   6.4   1.1   36.6   10.7   2.8   3.3     1.3 
                                                                                                                  
   Educational attainment(2)                                                                                      
                                                                                                                  
 Less than a high school                                                                                          
  diploma......................   2,734 100.0    4.6    22.6     .3   6.4   1.2   45.8   13.4   1.6   2.8     1.3 
 High school graduate, no                                                                                         
  college(3)...................  12,293 100.0    6.0    25.4    1.2   8.2   1.8   36.9   11.7   3.9   3.6     1.3 
 Less than a bachelor's                                                                                           
  degree(4)....................  14,919 100.0    5.9    26.8    1.7   8.9   2.0   34.4   11.6   3.9   3.6     1.3 
 College graduates.............  21,357 100.0    7.0    27.9    1.9   8.8    .7   31.5   12.2   4.7   3.6     1.7 
                                                                                                                  
         Marital status                                                                                           
                                                                                                                  
 Single, never married.........  12,177 100.0    6.1    28.4    2.2   9.6   1.7   27.2   14.8   4.0   4.4     1.6 
 Married, spouse present.......  37,823 100.0    6.0    28.2    1.3   7.7   1.4   36.6   10.4   4.0   3.0     1.5 
 Other marital status(5).......   9,163 100.0    6.7    21.9    2.0  11.2   1.2   31.6   15.6   3.7   4.6     1.5 
                                                                                                                  
    Presence of own children                                                                                      
        under 18 years(6)                                                                                         
                                                                                                                  
 Men:                                                                                                             
   No own children under 18                                                                                       
    years old..................  15,143 100.0    9.0    17.8    2.2   8.0   2.4   33.4   15.5   4.9   4.9     1.9 
   With own children under 18                                                                                     
    years old..................   9,371 100.0    5.3    37.9     .9   4.5   2.1   32.5    8.1   5.2   2.2     1.3 
 Women:                                                                                                           
   No own children under 18                                                                                       
    years old..................  20,227 100.0    6.5    16.1    2.2  12.8    .8   37.3   14.7   3.8   4.1     1.6 
   With own children under 18                                                                                     
    years old..................  14,421 100.0    3.1    45.9     .6   6.0    .7   30.5    7.5   2.4   2.2     1.0 
                                                                                                                  
       Employment status                                                                                          
                                                                                                                  
 Civilian labor force..........  42,396 100.0    6.4    28.9    1.8   8.6   1.6   32.1   11.5   4.2   3.5     1.4 
   Employed....................  40,379 100.0    6.4    28.8    1.7   8.6   1.7   32.2   11.5   4.2   3.5     1.4 
     Full time(7)..............  31,910 100.0    6.7    28.2    1.7   8.7   1.9   31.6   11.8   4.3   3.7     1.4 
     Part time(8)..............   8,469 100.0    5.2    31.2    1.8   8.1    .8   34.8   10.3   3.5   2.9     1.4 
   Unemployed..................   2,016 100.0    5.4    31.8    2.2   8.1    .9   30.2   12.6   4.4   3.6      .8 
 Not in the labor force........  16,767 100.0    5.6    23.0    1.2   8.7    .9   38.3   13.5   3.4   3.6     1.8 

   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 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, 2001, through the survey period in September 2002.  Detail for the above race and
 Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and
 Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.



 Table 5.  Volunteer activities for main organization for which activities were performed and selected characteristics,
 September 2002
                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                         
                                             Percent distribution of volunteer activities for main organization(1)       
                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                         
                                      Activ-  Activ-  Activ-                                       Organ-                        
                                      ities   ities   ities   Board                                ize,                         
                               Total    to      to      to    com-           Col-           Con-   super-                        
                               volun-  pro-    sup-   sup-    mit-,   Can-   lect,   Con-   sult-  vise,   Pro-                  Not 
      Characteristics          teers   tect    port   port    tee     vass,  make,   struc- ing     or     vide                report-
     in September 2002         (thou-  the     emer-  pub-     or     cam-   serve,  tion   or     help    care                  ing 
                               sands)  envi-   gency  lic     neigh-  paign-, or      or    admin- with     or    Teach  Other   type 
                                       ron-    pre-   health  bor-     or    deliv-  main-  istra- events  trans-  or             of  
                                       ment    pared-  or     hood    fund-   er      te-   tive    or     porta- coach         activ-
                                      or ani-  ness   safe-   associ- raise  goods   nance  work   activ-  tion                   ity 
                                       mals     or     ty     ation                                ities-                        
                                               relief         member                                (2)                         
                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
             Sex                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                         
 Total, both sexes...........  59,163   4.6    4.8     8.3    16.3     22.9   22.2    9.7   14.0    43.2   12.3    24.4   16.8   1.4
   Men.......................  24,514   5.3    5.8     9.0    17.9     20.9   17.6   16.0   14.3    40.4   12.0    27.1   16.1   1.4
   Women.....................  34,649   4.1    4.0     7.8    15.1     24.2   25.5    5.2   13.8    45.1   12.6    22.4   17.3   1.5
                                                                                                                         
             Age                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                         
 Total, 16 years and over....  59,163   4.6    4.8     8.3    16.3     22.9   22.2    9.7   14.0    43.2   12.3    24.4   16.8   1.4
   16 to 24 years............   7,860   6.4    5.4     9.0     6.3     19.4   20.5   13.2    8.4    38.2   10.3    26.7   18.8   2.3
      16 to 19 years.........   4,346   7.3    4.8     8.9     5.5     19.7   21.9   13.5    6.4    38.5    8.9    25.8   19.4   2.2
      20 to 24 years.........   3,515   5.2    6.1     9.1     7.3     19.0   18.8   12.9   11.0    37.8   12.1    27.8   18.0   2.5
   25 years and over.........  51,303   4.4    4.7     8.2    17.8     23.4   22.5    9.1   14.8    43.9   12.7    24.0   16.5   1.3
      25 to 34 years.........   9,279   4.5    4.9     9.1    11.8     22.4   19.4    8.4   11.2    45.6   12.5    28.1   15.2   1.5
      35 to 44 years.........  15,089   4.8    4.6     8.0    16.7     25.3   21.3    9.5   14.0    47.7   14.6    30.7   14.3   1.2
      45 to 54 years.........  12,296   4.2    5.0     8.9    20.3     25.0   21.7    9.4   16.3    45.3   12.9    24.7   15.3   1.5
      55 to 64 years.........   7,146   5.1    5.4     8.8    21.9     25.5   23.5   10.0   18.8    40.8   10.8    17.7   17.3   1.0
      65 years and over......   7,492   2.7    3.3     5.5    19.6     16.3   29.0    8.0   14.8    34.8   10.3    10.5   23.6   1.4
                                                                                                                         
   Race and Hispanic origin                                                                                               
                                                                                                                         
 White.......................  52,164   4.9    4.8     8.3    16.6     23.2   21.9    9.8   14.0    43.3   12.0    24.4   16.8   1.3
 Black.......................   4,987   2.9    4.4     8.2    15.2     21.6   26.1    8.8   13.9    42.9   15.0    25.2   17.1   2.2
 Hispanic origin.............   3,769   2.8    3.3     7.3     9.1     18.9   23.3    8.8    9.4    36.3   10.4    24.3   20.2   1.7
                                                                                                                         
  Educational attainment(3)                                                                                              
                                                                                                                         
 Less than a high school                                                                                                 
  diploma....................   2,734   1.9    3.3     5.3     8.0     14.6   30.0   12.1    7.2    32.8    9.6    12.8   21.7   1.0
 High school graduate, no                                                                                               
  college(4).................  12,293   3.9    4.2     6.9    14.2     23.2   25.3    9.7   10.0    42.2   12.3    19.2   17.1   1.2
 Less than a bachelor's                                                                                                  
  degree(5)..................  14,919   4.7    5.5     8.4    16.3     24.1   23.7    9.1   14.0    45.3   14.5    24.1   16.7   1.1
 College graduates...........  21,357   4.8    4.5     9.1    22.2     24.1   19.1    8.5   19.2    45.4   12.0    28.2   15.4   1.5
                                                                                                                         
        Marital status                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                         
 Single, never married.......  12,177   6.2    5.0     9.5     9.1     20.9   20.0   11.7   10.7    39.0   10.3    23.8   18.6   2.1
 Married, spouse present.....  37,823   4.3    4.7     7.7    18.9     23.8   22.3    9.8   14.8    45.0   13.2    26.0   15.4   1.3
 Other marital status(6).....   9,163   4.1    4.5     8.8    15.2     21.6   24.9    6.5   15.0    40.9   11.7    18.2   20.1   1.0
                                                                                                                         
   Presence of own children                                                                                              
       under 18 years(7)                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                         
 Men:                                                                                                                    
   No own children under 18                                                                                              
 years old...................  15,143   5.5    5.9     9.4    17.9     20.6   18.4   16.5   15.2    38.3   10.9    20.7   18.1   1.6
   With own children under 18                                                                                            
 years old...................   9,371   5.1    5.6     8.4    17.9     21.5   16.4   15.2   12.8    44.0   13.9    37.5   13.0   1.0
 Women:                                                                                                                  
   No own children under 18                                                                                              
 years old...................  20,227   4.6    4.1     8.2    14.9     22.3   26.2    5.8   14.2    40.2   10.3    18.5   19.0   1.7
   With own children under 18                                                                                            
 years old...................  14,421   3.4    4.0     7.1    15.5     27.0   24.5    4.4   13.2    51.9   15.7    27.9   14.8   1.3
                                                                                                                         
      Employment status                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                         
 Civilian labor force........  42,396   5.0    5.2     8.8    16.6     24.5   20.7   10.2   14.4    44.7   12.9    26.3   15.6   1.3
   Employed..................  40,379   4.9    5.2     8.8    16.9     24.6   20.6   10.1   14.4    44.7   12.8    26.3   15.5   1.3
     Full time(8)............  31,910   4.8    5.3     9.0    17.3     25.0   19.9   10.6   14.1    44.1   12.4    26.2   15.0   1.4
     Part time(9)............   8,469   5.0    4.8     8.1    15.6     23.0   23.4    8.2   15.3    46.6   14.5    26.8   17.3   1.2
   Unemployed................   2,016   6.7    5.1     8.8    10.9     22.9   22.7   11.5   15.2    45.1   14.3    26.4   17.5   1.2
 Not in the labor force......  16,767   3.8    3.7     6.9    15.5     18.7   26.0    8.4   12.9    39.3   11.0    19.4   19.9   1.7

   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 This category may have been chosen by such a large proportion of respondents because of the word "help."  Since all
 volunteers "help" in some way, it may have become a "catch-all" response.
   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, 2001, through the survey period in September 2002.  Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin
 groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in
 both the white and black population groups.  Detail will sum to greater than 100 percent because respondents could
 choose more than one activity.



 Table 6.  Volunteers by how they became involved with main organization for which volunteer activities were
 performed and selected characteristics, September 2002
                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                 
                                              Percent distribution of how volunteers became involved with main   
                                                                      organization(1)                            
                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                 
                                  Total                                 Was asked by:                            
          Characteristics         volun-                                                                      Not  
         in September 2002        teers          Approach-                                                  report-
                                  (thou-          ed the                  Rela-    Someone                  ing how
                                  sands)  Total  organi-        Boss or   tive,    in the           Other   became
                                           (2)   zation   Total employ-   friend,  organi-    Some-         involved
                                                                   er       or     zation/    one                 
                                                                         co-work-  school     else               
                                                                           er                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
              Sex                                                                                                
                                                                                                                 
 Total, both sexes.............   59,163  100.0    40.1    43.0    1.5     14.1     25.8       1.4   14.9    2.1 
   Men.........................   24,514  100.0    39.3    43.8    1.5     15.2     25.5       1.3   14.8    2.0 
   Women.......................   34,649  100.0    40.6    42.3    1.4     13.4     26.0       1.4   14.9    2.2 
                                                                                                                 
              Age                                                                                                
                                                                                                                 
 Total, 16 years and over......   59,163  100.0    40.1    43.0    1.5     14.1     25.8       1.4   14.9    2.1 
   16 to 24 years..............    7,860  100.0    40.7    40.2     .9     16.1     20.8       2.1   16.2    2.9 
      16 to 19 years...........    4,346  100.0    40.6    39.6     .2     14.9     21.8       2.5   16.7    3.1 
      20 to 24 years...........    3,515  100.0    40.9    40.8    1.9     17.7     19.6       1.6   15.6    2.7 
   25 years and over...........   51,303  100.0    40.0    43.4    1.6     13.8     26.6       1.3   14.7    2.0 
      25 to 34 years...........    9,279  100.0    38.1    44.1    3.0     14.6     25.0       1.4   15.6    2.2 
      35 to 44 years...........   15,089  100.0    39.8    44.0    1.6     13.1     27.9       1.2   14.4    1.8 
      45 to 54 years...........   12,296  100.0    39.7    43.7    1.4     13.7     27.1       1.2   14.7    2.0 
      55 to 64 years...........    7,146  100.0    40.6    43.3    1.2     14.7     26.0       1.1   14.2    1.9 
      65 years and over........    7,492  100.0    42.6    40.8     .3     13.5     25.5       1.5   14.4    2.1 
                                                                                                                 
    Race and Hispanic origin                                                                                     
                                                                                                                 
 White.........................   52,164  100.0    40.0    43.3    1.5     14.2     26.0       1.3   14.7    2.0 
 Black.........................    4,987  100.0    40.5    42.1    1.3     13.6     25.1       2.0   14.7    2.8 
 Hispanic origin...............    3,769  100.0    40.4    40.9    1.8     12.9     24.5       1.5   16.4    2.3 
                                                                                                                 
   Educational attainment(3)                                                                                     
                                                                                                                 
 Less than a high school                                                                                         
  diploma......................    2,734  100.0    39.2    45.2     .6     15.1     27.6       1.7   13.7    1.9 
 High school graduate, no                                                                                        
  college(4)...................   12,293  100.0    40.3    43.4    1.2     14.7     26.1       1.2   14.6    1.8 
 Less than a bachelor's                                                                                          
  degree(5)....................   14,919  100.0    39.4    43.1    1.8     13.8     26.1       1.3   15.8    1.6 
 College graduates.............   21,357  100.0    40.3    43.3    1.7     13.1     27.0       1.2   14.0    2.3 
                                                                                                                 
         Marital status                                                                                          
                                                                                                                 
 Single, never married.........   12,177  100.0    41.5    39.9    1.6     16.2     20.1       1.9   15.6    3.0 
 Married, spouse present.......   37,823  100.0    39.4    44.3    1.4     13.3     28.0       1.3   14.4    1.9 
 Other marital status(6).......    9,163  100.0    41.0    41.6    1.4     14.5     24.3       1.2   15.8    1.6 
                                                                                                                 
    Presence of own children                                                                                     
        under 18 years(7)                                                                                        
                                                                                                                 
 Men:                                                                                                            
   No own children under 18                                                                                      
    years old..................   15,143  100.0    40.0    42.9    1.4     15.8     24.0       1.5   14.9    2.2 
   With own children under 18                                                                                    
    years old..................    9,371  100.0    38.2    45.3    1.7     14.2     28.0       1.1   14.8    1.7 
 Women:                                                                                                          
   No own children under 18                                                                                      
    years old..................   20,227  100.0    41.4    40.8    1.4     15.1     22.6       1.5   15.3    2.4 
   With own children under 18                                                                                    
    years old..................   14,421  100.0    39.5    44.5    1.5     10.9     30.8       1.3   14.2    1.8 
                                                                                                                 
       Employment status                                                                                         
                                                                                                                 
 Civilian labor force..........   42,396  100.0    39.2    43.7    1.9     14.5     25.7       1.4   15.1    2.0 
   Employed....................   40,379  100.0    39.0    43.9    2.0     14.5     25.9       1.3   15.2    2.0 
     Full time(8)..............   31,910  100.0    38.3    44.6    2.3     15.1     25.9       1.2   15.2    1.9 
     Part time(9)..............    8,469  100.0    41.6    41.0     .8     12.3     26.1       1.6   15.1    2.3 
   Unemployed..................    2,016  100.0    43.3    40.7    1.6     15.0     21.6       2.3   14.3    1.7 
 Not in the labor force........   16,767  100.0    42.4    41.1     .3     13.1     26.1       1.4   14.2    2.4 

   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, 2001, through the survey period in September 2002.  Detail for the above race and
 Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented and
 Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.