With one of the highest volunteer rates in the developed world, Canada has a lot of people eager to donate their time. And many of them experience benefits above and beyond feeling good about themselves.
A
report released this month by TD Economics suggests that Canadians over 15 gave the equivalent of $51.1 billion in unpaid hours in 2010 (the most recent year for which Statistics Canada has data). Our charitable giving, though an impressive $10 billion, was only one-fifth of that. Canada’s volunteer rate has continued to rise since 2004, with 47 per cent of Canadians now doing some kind of volunteering.
“That surprised me because in other countries like the US, during a recession, people tend to give less, they don’t give as much of their time, maybe because they have other priorities,” says Brian DePratto, the economist who worked on the report. “But that’s not what we found in Canada. It speaks to the Canadian character. We’re not the kind of people to give up on a commitment for any reason at all.”
Although the statistics are not broken down by city, Ontario’s overall volunteer rate increased by one percentage point to 48 per cent between 2007 and 2010—slightly above the Canadian average. Rates were highest in Saskatchewan, where 58 per cent of people over 15 do some volunteering.
Hard-core volunteers give a disproportionate number of hours. Just 10 per cent of volunteers dedicate more than 390 hours per year, yet these volunteers are responsible for 53 per cent of the total hours.
Although “wanting to make a contribution” was the motivator for 93 per cent of those surveyed, some people do see more tangible benefits from their volunteer efforts. About 22 per cent of volunteers surveyed cited improving job opportunities, which lines up with a US study that suggests that volunteering is associated with a 27 per cent higher probability of employment.
“For the many currently unemployed or underemployed Canadians, volunteering can help keep skills sharp while helping to get them back to work,” states the TD report.
Writer: Paul Gallant
Source: Brian DePratto