SASKATOON (Staff) – One in four Canadians volunteers spare time to an organization or activity.
In 1987, the last year in which Statistics Canada collected information on volunteer work, the number doubled from the 1980 census.
CUSO’s newsletter reports a study of five countries’ volunteering rate – Canada, Britain, France, Spain and the U.S. – showed Canadians have the highest volunteering rate and contribute more hours (5.2 a month) than the other four countries.
Married people volunteer more than younger ones and employed people more than unemployed. The majority of Canada’s volunteers are women (56 percent) and employed married women had the highest participation rate.
The main places where they do the unpaid work is their church (17 percent), recreation and sports (16 percent), education and youth development (14 percent) and community (nine percent).
