Idaho has ranked second in the nation for its rate of volunteerism, for the second year in a row, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service. Its annual report, “Volunteering and Civic Life in America,” showed Idaho ranking only behind Utah; and Boise ranking 8^th among 75 mid-sized cities, with a higher volunteerism rate than the state as a whole – 38.1 percent vs. 35.8 percent statewide.

The rate reflects the percentage of people age 16 or older who performed unpaid volunteer activities through or for an organization, as measured by census data. It showed that 451,620 Idahoans put in more than 51 million hours of volunteer service, valued at $1.2 billion. More than half of the volunteers also donated $25 or more to charity.

Utah’s volunteerism rate was 46 percent. In third place was Wisconsin, 35.4 percent; followed closely by Minnesota, 35.3 percent; and Kansas, 35.1 percent.

Serve Idaho, a division of the Idaho Department of Labor, offers information here on ways to volunteer.