Kansas Citians gave more than 68 million service hours back to their community in 2014, putting them near the top of a list of volunteering cities.
The Corporation for National and Community Service ranked Kansas City the eighth most giving on a list of 51 major metropolitan areas. Nearly a third of Kansas Citians volunteer.
CEO Wendy Spencer says a number of factors increase the number of hours people give. Areas with a high homeownership rates often have correspondingly high rates of volunteerism, she says.
But there are some surprises in the data, too.
“Shockingly, the highest rate of volunteers is a group between the ages of 33-49, which is really surprising because that’s the working parents of school-age children, who are the busiest people I know,” Spencer says.
Senior volunteers, however, were more likely to give the most time – upwards of 80 hours a year.
Though CNCS encourages volunteerism throughout the year, Spencer says she gets excited near the holidays when families are more likely to take part in service activities or collect for charities.
“Then that may be the first time you take a young person volunteering, and it introduces volunteering as part of a family activity,” she says.
Her advice? Let the kids pick how the family spends its volunteer hours. That means they’ll be more invested in the cause and more interested in coming back come January.
Elle Moxley is a reporter for KCUR. You can reach her on Twitter @ellemoxley.
