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Residents from our region are giving, helpful people. We already know that. But it is encouraging to get confirmation in the form of WalletHub's "Most Charitable States for 2024," in which the Tri-State Area ranked fairly well.
Pennsylvania ranked seventh in the nation, which Ohio ranked 10th and West Virginia ranked 44th.
According to the study, Ohio is 28th for number of charities per capita, 26th for the percentage of the population who donated time, third for the percentage of the population collecting/distributing food, 27th for volunteer rate and 24th for volunteer hours per capita.
Pennsylvania, meanwhile, is 21st in number of charities per capita, 12th for the percentage of the population who donated time, 12th for the percentage of the population collecting/distributing food, 23rd for volunteer rate and 20th for volunteer hours per capita.
And, West Virginia is 33rd in number of charities per capita, 43rd for the percentage of the population who donated time, seventh for the percentage of the population collecting/distributing food, 35th for volunteer rate and 31st for volunteer hours per capita.
Nearly 61 million people volunteer in the U.S., serving a combined total of 4.1 billion hours per year, the equivalent of $122.9 billion worth of service, according to WalletHub.
Ohio falls in the poorest and most charitable category, while West Virginia listed among the poorest and least charitable. Pennsylvania falls into the richest and most charitable category.
"Americans are donating less time and money to charitable causes. For instance, total volunteer hours dropped by 2.82 billion nationwide, a 40.7 percent decrease from the last survey period," said WalletHub analyst Cassandra Happe. "People have busier schedules now and many are struggling to make ends meet with the cost of inflation, leaving them with less time and money available to donate."
Of course we're busy, too many are struggling to make ends meet, and giving can be a strain. But in our area, we do it, anyway. Those who dig a little deeper when times are tough are to be commended. Sadly, the need is only growing. And the number of those able to give without feeling the pinch is shrinking. We've got to keep it up, however.
As always, if you are able to meet a need, please consider doing so. But the wonderful thing about our region is that many residents are doing just that.