Snow Storm Volunteers

Across the region, family members, neighbors and volunteers have stepped in to help older people cope with cold homes, snowdrifts and empty cupboards. One family waded through deep snow on an unplowed street in Silver Spring to get a man to a car that could take him to a hospital for dialysis. A woman in Northeast Washington was thankful for a delivery of meals from volunteers as she shivered under blankets in a house with a broken furnace. She had kept her oven and stove on for warmth.

Four-by-fours rumbled over snowy streets to neighborhoods in Anne Arundel and Howard counties, bringing extra food to shut-in residents.

Some programs that assist the elderly have redoubled their efforts because of the storms. But many were unable to staff programs or deliver food and aid on icy roads or in neighborhoods where snow hadn't been cleared.

Most area Meals on Wheels programs had to suspend operations Tuesday, said Michael Flynn, director of communications for the organization. While many were able to deliver extra food Friday before the first storm, officials were not sure when they would be able to start restocking cupboards and freezers again.

Some programs were using four-wheel drive vehicles to deliver meals, said Enid Borden, president and chief executive of the Meals on Wheels Association of America. "This is a very serious situation," she said.

Many older people were thankful for conveniences unavailable in previous storms: assisted-living communities where some staff members stayed, sleeping on air mattresses, to keep services going; pharmacies and grocery stores with delivery programs; and neighborhood e-mail lists that made it easier to ask for help with shoveling or running errands.

In Springfield, Mary Anderson, 81, said several neighbors showed up to shovel her driveway, porch and front steps. On Tuesday, other neighbors were digging trenches to ensure that melting snow would drain away from her home and to prevent driveways from becoming slick with ice.

Taffy and Frank Schwelb were grateful that five or six neighboring families in Northwest Washington pitched in, helping to dig them out, keeping an eye on their cat, Bumper, when they checked into a warm hotel and bringing them a gallon of milk they couldn't have carried home.

From The Washington Post blog "In Washington snowstorm, neighbors, volunteers take care of area's elderly"

Volunteering Up!

Both the number of volunteers and the volunteer rate rose over the year ended in September 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. About 63.4 million people, or 26.8 percent of the population, volunteered through or for an organization at least once between September 2008 and September 2009. In 2008, the volunteer rate was 26.4 percent.

These data on volunteering were collected through a supplement to the September 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS). The supplement was sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service. 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. Volunteers
are defined as persons who did unpaid work (except for expenses) through or for an organization.

Volunteering Among Demographic Groups
The volunteer rate of women increased from 29.4 percent in 2008 to 30.1 percent in 2009, while the volunteer rate for men, at 23.3 percent, was essentially unchanged. As in previous years, women volunteered at a higher rate than did men across all age groups, educational levels, and other major demographic characteristics.

By age, 35- to 44-year olds and 45- to 54-year olds were the most likely to volunteer. Their volunteer rates were 31.5 percent and 30.8 percent, respectively, in 2009. Volunteer rates were lowest among persons in their early twenties (18.8 percent) and those age 65 and over (23.9 percent).

Among the major race and ethnicity groups, whites continued to volunteer at a higher rate (28.3 percent)than did blacks (20.2 percent), Asians (19.0 percent), and Hispanics (14.7 percent). Of these groups, the volunteer rate of blacks and whites rose in 2009. Among blacks it rose by 1.1 percentage points, driven by an increase in the volunteer rate of black women.

Volunteer rates were higher among married persons (32.3 percent) than those who had never married (20.6 percent) and those with other marital statuses (21.5 percent). Parents with children under age 18 were substantially more likely to volunteer than were persons without children under 18 years of age, 34.4 percent compared with 23.9 percent.

Individuals with higher levels of educational attainment were more likely to volunteer than were those with less education. Among persons age 25 and over, 42.8 percent of college graduates volunteered,compared with 18.8 percent of high school graduates and 8.6 percent of those with less than a high school diploma.

Volunteering By Employment Status
During the year ending in September 2009, 29.7 percent of all employed persons volunteered. By comparison, the volunteer rates of the unemployed (22.9 percent) and those not in the labor force (22.6 percent) were lower. Among the employed, part-time workers were more likely than full-time workers to have participated in volunteer activities—33.7 versus 28.7 percent.

From 2008 to 2009, those employed full time showed a large increase in their volunteer rate—from 27.8 to 28.7 percent. This was led by women employed full time, with an increase of 1.4 percentage points in their volunteer rate. Among men, the largest increase in the volunteer rate was among the unemployed; it rose from 17.0 to 18.2 percent over the year.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Report link