2003 Economic Impact of Arkansas Volunteers
Value to State Organizations
As mentioned earlier, at least 390,117 Arkansans donated their time to the
state. Areas of service provided by these volunteers were categorized into
four major areas. These areas include Direct Service,
Indirect Service, Advocacy, and Boards
and/or Commissions. The following chart shows the percentage volunteers served
in each area. Over 54 percent (54.5%) were in direct services. These services
involve working directly with clients and include monitoring telephones for agencies/organizations;
delivering food through programs such as Meals on Wheels; and helping teachers
in classrooms. Indirect services accounted for over 31 percent (31.3%) and included
collecting articles for distribution; planning fund-raising projects; and working
with Habitat for Humanity (also included in direct service) in construction projects.
More than eight percent (8.8%) served on boards, commissions and/or advisory
councils without monetary compensation for their time. Advocacy accounted for
5.4 % of the reported volunteer service. These citizens spoke at meetings extolling
the merits of volunteerism or lobbied for additional funding for various services.
