Social activities are contagious

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Since the earliest days of U.S. history, which began 234 years ago, Americans have volunteered in a variety of actions to promote the country’s well-being and make life easier for those who are struggling. This year, for the first time, the federal government released “Public Life in America,” a report that describes how much U.S. residents remain committed to civic principles in both big and small ways by participating in formal organizations and in other ways.

The study, conducted by the Corporation for National and Local Community Service and the National Conference on Citizenship, showed a significant increase in volunteerism in the U.S. in 2009, when the country and the world were in economic crisis.

“Americans participate in community service both formally and informally,” said Lamonica Shelton of the Corporation for National and Local Community Service. – This is very important because we need to broaden perceptions of people’s participation in America’s problems. It’s not just about formal participation through organizations, but it’s about people just getting together in their neighborhoods and working on issues.”

National Conference on Citizenship staffer Michael Wieser notes that the report reveals three main areas of community action. “When times are tough, Americans come together to solve problems in their communities,” he says. – “They embrace problems rather than walk away from them, even though the task of making ends meet is becoming more urgent than it was a few years ago.

“Second, we learned that community action is contagious,” Wieser continues. – The report clearly shows that people who participate in one type of community activity – no matter how informal – tend to get involved in more formal volunteering. Third, we learned that the Civic Health Assessment we adopted is the very first step toward greater participation.”

According to Lamonica Shelton, the study revealed several indicators that show who is more likely to spend their time and talents volunteering. “If a person participates in one of the many forms of civic community activity that we focused on in the Public Life in America report, the chances of them getting involved in other activities goes up,” she explains. – It’s a cycle that’s gaining momentum: if a person is involved in volunteerism, they’re more likely to be involved in elections, and if people interact informally with their neighbors, they’re more likely to be involved in local civic organizations.

The number of Internet users in the U.S. is high and growing. It may seem that the World Wide Web distracts people from real and personal interaction with others. However, in terms of community service and civic participation, according to Michael Wieser, this understanding may be wrong. “The Internet is a tool that brings people together,” he says. – Eventually they can meet and work together face to face. Then they’ll work personally and closely together to solve community problems or work together in an organization. So the Internet is likely to help people find other people with similar interests. It can help overcome certain complexes. And at the end of the day, it helps them become what they want to become, which is to work together for the good of their community.”

Research on civic participation in the United States has been done in the past. Lamonica Shelton explains the specifics of the current study. “Previous work has examined the formal ways people participate through formal organizations,” she says. – “In our report, Public Life in America, we looked beyond volunteering. We looked at other aspects of community service, at informal activities, like when you work together with your neighbors to solve a problem. But then we also looked at other key areas, such as political activity, participation in groups, access to information about current events, and social connections.”

The report also noted the high level of community engagement among military veterans, as well as the role of corporations, many of which incorporate community engagement into their business strategy.

The “Public Life in America” report found that 63.4 million Americans were involved in at least one community organization in 2009. About 20 million people worked with others to solve specific problems. Six in 10 Americans provided services to their neighbors.