UServeUtah celebrates 30th anniversary laying groundwork to remain No. 1 in volunteerism

Snow falls at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

For years, Utah has scored some of the top spots in the country’s volunteerism rankings. After emerging from a pandemic dip into an increasingly polarized political climate, emphasis is being placed on the connections that can be made on both sides when Utahns serve one another.

For decades, the state has maintained an institution whose sole mission is to foster a culture of service — the Utah Commission on Service and Volunteerism, also known as UServeUtah. 

After AmeriCorps, a federal agency for volunteerism, was established, Utah created the commission to access the new office’s funding. But, while some states kept their scopes narrowed to AmeriCorps’ guidelines, in Utah, the commission became “the central coordinating body for service and volunteerism,” Mike Moon, associate director at UServeUtah said. 

Fast forward to 2024, the year of its 30th anniversary, UServeUtah has some shining numbers to show.

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“We take that role and that title, that name, ‘the central coordinating body for service and volunteerism’ very seriously,” Moon said, “which means for the state that has the highest rate of volunteerism, both formal and informal in the nation.”

The organization helps nonprofit organizations to run volunteer programs, so participants have a good experience and are likely to put their names down for a second time. It also provides individuals with resources to serve, he said. 

Utah volunteerism is recovering from a bad patch. Following national trends, Utah’s volunteer rate dropped from 47% in 2019 to 40% in 2021, according to data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps. 

The latest numbers show a recovery, however. Between September 2022 and 2023, more than 1.2 million Utahns served as formal volunteers, contributing nearly 114 million hours of service, according to AmeriCorps. That means that 46.6% of Utah residents helped others through organizations. Informal volunteers, or those who exchanged favors with their neighbors, made up about 68% of the state’s population.

The most common volunteer activities among Utahns center around food, Moon said. There are a lot of food donations, food drives, and hands helping pack and distribute food to those in need. 

Is niceness a factor?

Missionaries from The Church of Latter-day Saints who serve in the state are counted in the metrics gathered by the census. Plus, others in the 2.1 million church membership are highly encouraged to volunteer. However, Moon said, all UServeUtah resources are meant to stay within the state’s boundaries.

But, one predominant personality trait of the state may also explain such high numbers: its niceness.

Some Utah politicians have coined the term the “Utah way” mostly to explain the state’s civility. Gov. Spencer Cox also launched the “Disagree Better” initiative, aiming to attenuate politically-driven polarization.

In a way, UServeUtah jumped on that bandwagon for its 30th birthday. 

“We have a new initiative that we call United in Service, and that initiative is designed around the idea that service is a great tool to help people get to know one another and come together for a common cause,” Moon said. “There’s so much incivility and division in our society right now that we know that service and volunteerism helps bring people together. It can be one of the cures.”

Organizers bring volunteers together and have them discuss easy prompts. The events, Moon said, are designed to help people connect, finding common ground around a cause and other life experiences — and to keep them coming back.

“People are indeed connecting and finding that it’s a good space to do that, so we’re continuing them,” Moon said.

The next United in Service project is scheduled for Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Tooele. 

Additionally, the commission is planning to focus its efforts on housing, for those in need of affordable homes; mental health, especially for young people and aging adults; and incorporating service projects where people are, providing incentives for people to volunteer through programs at their schools or jobs.

For now, the commission has many volunteering opportunities on its website and encourages Utahns to use its Community Engagement Pathways tool to find their best volunteering match.

And, while these efforts benefit others, Moon highlighted that it can also be good for the person providing the service. 

“We receive so much by giving, by doing things for others, it improves our psyche, our well being, our health,” he said. “So it is important. It’s essential, not only for other people, that we serve, but for ourselves.”

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