Iowa City, Cedar Rapids rank high for volunteer efforts

Four Iowa cities – Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Waterloo and Des Moines – ranked in the top 20 communities for volunteer service rates, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Iowa City ranked second with a volunteer rate of 49.2 percent, Waterloo was sixth with a volunteer rate of 39.3 percent, Des Moines ranked 10th overall (ninth for mid-size cities) with a volunteer rate of 38.2 percent and Cedar Rapids came in 17th overall (14th for mid-size cities) with a volunteer rate of 36.3 percent.

As a state, Iowa had a volunteer rate of 37.1 percent and moved up one spot from last year in the corporation's annual report, Volunteering in America: 2009 State and City Trends and Rankings.

The Corporation for National and Community Service was established in 1993 to connect Americans of all ages and backgrounds with opportunities to give back to their communities and their nation. It merged the work and staffs of two predecessor agencies, ACTION and the Commission on National and Community Service.

Approximately 886,000 adults volunteered in Iowa in 2008, compared to 858,300 in 2007 – a 3 percent increase. Much of that was attributed to an increase in the rate of college volunteerism, which was up 11.6 percent from last year – an increase from 17th to 6th in rankings for that demographic.  Iowa ranks in the top six in all demographic groups.

Gov. Chet Culver expressed pride in the Iowa communities on the list that, he said, upheld Iowa's status as a national leader in volunteerism and service.