Comments on: The heartland’s generosity

By: Jason!

Jason! — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 01:26:43 +0000

Loaf, your numbers look like city populations, not metropolitan area populations. A metro area can be bigger than the city limits of the city it’s named after.

Here’s some metro population numbers:
http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_metropolitan_areas

By: loaf

loaf — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:25:22 +0000

I understand this study is based on the 50 largest metropolitan areas, but based on population where do these ten cities stand?

Austin is the largest on the list with 709,893 followed by Charlotte with 630,478 based on the US Census website for 2006,

Not wanting to sound mean but 700,000 pepole isnt a huge amoun, is it fair to base a study where there the difference in population is over 1million?

By: Rachel

Rachel — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 19:30:57 +0000

I’m from a small town in Ohio and now I live in New Jersey and I can honestly say that the opportunities for volunteering are much more numerous here in NJ than they were at home. Could be that there are just more people here in need of the services provided at organizations that utilize volunteers. Back home, I can’t remember anyone volunteering for anything except perhaps candy-stripers?

Maybe I just wasn’t as aware of it… [shrug]

By: Allison

Allison — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 16:51:17 +0000

Dave, giving blood certainly counts as volunteering. I work at a blood center occasionally and I can’t express how much it’s appreciated. It’s necessary to save lives, and it can’t be bought or manufactured. No one gives for the tax write off, only out of the goodness of their heart.

I’m from Charlotte, and I have a theory that most people work for banks here, and the banks encourage volunteering to offset the fact that they walk all over the backs of the less fortunate. I’m glad that it gets done though. But we are a shallow, shallow city in general – much more than that study would show. As for myself, I am very involved with Save Darfur, I am a member of Women’s Club Service league, and several organizations that promote arts education to underpriveledged kids.

By: Kate

Kate — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 04:57:43 +0000

I also read that people in the midwest donate more money to charities than people in other parts of the country.

Oh, and I live in Omaha and volunteer teaching English to the non-English speaking population in a small town outside Omaha.

By: InsertNerdyNameHere

InsertNerdyNameHere — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 04:56:09 +0000

I agree with the whole of Lindsay D’s statement. It’s ridiculous to infer that us Midwesterners have nothing better to do with our time other than selfless acts of service for our fellow man. Believe me, it’s not like we sit around and think, well I got a few hours to kill……..suppose I could go sponge bathe the elderly. C’mon, I’d rather go to IKEA just as much as any east/west coaster.
By the way, I’m from Salt Lake City where neighbor means more than just the people who live near you :)

By: MacStudent

MacStudent — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:23:33 +0000

I live in the Twin Cities, and volunteer doing environmental education in elementary schools. Hurrah, Minnesota nice!

By: jill

jill — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:10:10 +0000

yet another reason to hate las vegas. we’re pathetic.

By: cmk

cmk — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:48:48 +0000

My youngest daughter lives in St. Paul and she is a volunteer foster mother…for animals. Her biggest problem, though, is that she fosters an animal and then doesn’t want to give it up. That is how she got her LAST cat! I told her she has to quit–they don’t have room for any more pets.

By: Jason!

Jason! — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:36:58 +0000

Do you have any links to this government study?

I wonder how this survey would skew if they went smaller than the 50 largest metropolitan areas. I know there is a lot of community outreach and volunteerism in my metro area, but we are definitely not in the top 50 in size…