The Nation - News from May 31, 1987

Despite the high mobility of families in the United States, the increase of women in the work force and charges that Americans are increasingly preoccupied with their material well-being, volunteerism continues to grow, the Gallup Poll found. As many as four in 10 adult citizens in the latest survey (39%) reported being involved, formally or informally, in such charitable activities as helping the underprivileged, the infirm or elderly. The current figure represents the high point in a 10-year trend, with 27% in the first survey in 1977 reporting such charitable work. The proportion of both male and female volunteers has grown in the same period, but the gain has been more pronounced among men--up 10 points contrasted with 7 points for women.