Miami University report shows volunteerism down among Ohioans

Miami University assistant professors John Forren and Theresa Conover, who focus on justice and community studies, recently presented the 2016 Ohio Civic Health Index, which shows that only three in 10 Ohioans engage in organized volunteer work each year.
 
The report -- produced in a partnership between the Miami University Regionals’ Center for Civic Engagement and the National Conference on Citizenship -- also found that volunteerism is lowest among the youngest adults in the state, and that those who do still volunteer do not spend as much time doing so as they did in the past.
 
“We view our participation in this project as a key part of our mission to engage actively in Ohio’s communities, meet Ohioans’ educational needs and work collaboratively with others to identify and address community problems,” Center for Civic Engagement Director Sarah Woiteshek said.
 
Beyond volunteerism, the report also looks at other indicators of civic health, like charitable giving, group participation, voting behavior, nonvoting political action and informal social consequences.

Some other key findings in the study indicate that only 40.6 percent of Ohioans regularly talk to their neighbors and only 6.5 percent work with their neighbors to improve their communities.