(KCPW News) For the seventh straight year, Utah is number one for volunteerism. Today Utah Lieutenant Governor Greg Bell announced the results from the Volunteering and Civic Life in America Report which shows 41% of the state’s adults give back in their communities compared to the national average of 27 percent.
“It’s really a big deal because not only are we first, but we’re first by a mile,” said Bell. “This is the bottom up, the good people of Utah who young and old want to help.”
Utah’s ranking has also helped the state economically. Sophia DiCaro, Deputy Director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development says the report shows how much of an effect volunteers have had on the state.
“They provided 143.9 million hours of service which is the equivalent of over 69,000 full-time employees,” DiCaro said. “The hourly rate was $21.79 and so they calculate the economic impact of that to be 3.7 billion dollars.”
South Dakota and Iowa round out the top three states for volunteerism.
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