Portland: The Volunteer City

Self-congratulations alert: The Portland area ranks second in the United States among large cities for volunteering — with 36.7 percent of residents donating some of their time between 2006 and 2008, according to this new study from the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The national volunteer rate over that three-year stretch was 26.4 percent, and Portland trailed only Minneapolis in the rankings of 51 cities in the United States.

Among the states, Oregon ranked 13th (Utah led the way with a rate of 43.5 percent) with a volunteer rate of 33.2 percent.

As you pore through the numbers and wonder who locally might need your volunteer help, you could think about helping all the good folks in WW's 2008 Give!Guide. And that of course reminds us that the 2009 Give!Guide is just around the corner and we're looking for worthy non-profits to include this year in the fund-raising.