AREA LAGS IN GIVING OF TIME CITY NEAR BOTTOM ON VOLUNTEERISM.

Byline: SUSAN ABRAM

Staff Writer

The Los Angeles metropolitan area ranked second-worst in California for volunteerism in a study released Monday, with fewer residents than one out of four donating time to give back to the community.

Researchers from the Corporation for National and Community Service said just 22 percent of L.A. residents participated in volunteer activities, compared with 29 percent in San Francisco and in San Diego, as well as 27 percent in Sacramento and San Jose. The statewide average was 25 percent during the two-year period that was studied.

Despite the numbers, leaders of most nonprofit groups in the San Fernando Valley, long praised for the extent of its volunteerism, and the rest of the L.A. area say they believe residents are generous with their time.

"My experience has been it's not that hard to sell volunteerism here," said Sherry Marks, a coordinator for Big Sunday, a two-day event that drew 50,000 volunteers in April.

"It's not been my experience that everybody is too busy on their cell phones and sipping on their lattes. People care, they are concerned about issues, but there are other considerations."

Marks said Los Angeles' notorious traffic jams are a major deterrent to volunteerism, along with the area's high cost of living.

"We have lots of people in Los Angeles who do not even own their own homes, who work two jobs. For these people, volunteering is a luxury," she said.

Wondering how

Others said residents may feel that what they have to offer is insufficient, or they may not know where to start.

"Many Californians have the desire to give back, but don't know how," said Karen Baker, executive director of CaliforniaVolunteers, a state agency that manages programs to increase interest in volunteering.

"Californians can volunteer once a week, once a year or once in a while to make a difference."

Officials at L.A. Works, operated through the city of Los Angeles, say the number of volunteers has surged from 700 to 12,000 over the past three years.

"We can always do better," Executive Director Ann Burroughs said. "But we've worked incredibly hard to deepen the voluntary experience, as well."

The agency offers up to 125 volunteer opportunities a month, Burroughs said. And L.A. Works has increased its partnerships with corporations and flexibility to allow employees to give time.

Numbers vary

In the Valley, some agencies enjoy a healthier volunteer base, while others struggle.

Meet Each Need with Dignity, the Valley's largest group assisting people in poverty, relies on 2,100 volunteers. Last year, volunteers in the Pacoima-based MEND group logged 95,000 hours.

"We're probably a little different, because MEND is volunteer-based," said Executive Director Marianne Haven Hill. "We are proactive, and we use as many networks as possible."

Volunteers include doctors, dentists, nurses, business executives who teach English classes, college students, members of religious groups and even some people the courts ordered to do community service after minor offenses, Hill said.

"We have also created opportunities for volunteers to work from home, to write (requests for) grants or press releases on their own time," she said. "We're kind of unique that way."

But at Women's Care Cottage, a North Hollywood-based nonprofit agency that helps move homeless women and children off the streets to stable homes, some services, such as processing donated items, had to be postponed for lack of volunteers to do the work.

"It's been a horror to try to get volunteers," said Shamika Denham, supervisor for the organization's resource center. "The only volunteers we get are from universities, and they only want to volunteer for a few days for credit."

Many struggling

Denham said she believes the region's demographics complicate the effort to get volunteers.

"A lot of homes are either two-income households or there's a lot of single-headed households, and they are just really trying to get by," she said.

Others said the study casts a spotlight on the need for organizations to seek new methods to lure volunteers.

"Now that we have the cold hard facts, it would seem to me that there are some ways we can focus our attention on improving opportunities," said Marks, the Big Sunday coordinator.

"People who want to volunteer usually seek it out. Our challenge is to get people excited about coming out that first time."

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com

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Looking for volunteers

A report released Monday by the Corporation for National and Community Service found:

Volunteer rates in larger cities ranged from 40 percent in Minneapolis-St. Paul to 14 percent in Las Vegas.

More than 35 percent of those who volunteered did so as part of a religious group.

Los Angeles had about 2.2 million volunteers who gave 298 million hours annually from 2004 to 2006.

More women than men volunteered in Los Angeles, but men gave more time.

Twenty percent of volunteers held fundraisers or sold items to raise money. Another 20 percent tutored.

Online

To check out volunteer opportunities, see www.CaliforniaVolunteers.org or www.laworks.com.

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