There were 64.5 million people in the US reporting volunteering activities in 2006 in the US, which represents about 27% of the adult population. The distribution of volunteers by type of activity is as follows (in descending order, percentages do not add to 100% because multiple answers were allowed):
Religious org. 39.7% Children's educational, sports, or recreational group 20.0% Social and community service group 12.7% Other educational group 4.4% Hospital, clinic, or healthcare org. 4.1% Health research or education org., including public health 4.0% Civic org. 3.9% Some other type of org 3.3% Youth services group 2.2% Cultural or arts org. 1.9% Sports or hobby group 1.8% Environmental or animal care org. 1.6% Public safety org. 1.3% Political party or advocacy group 0.8% Labor union, business, or professional org. 0.8% International org. 0.6% Immigrant/refugee assistance 0.1%
Source: Current Population Survey 2006, September Supplement
Pretty depressing, huh? 40% of all volunteering is for religious organizations, less than 2% for environmental or animal rights orgs, and less than 1% for labor unions, business of professional orgs. It is a goddamn god's country and it shows.
Wojtek