National Volunteer Week was established in 1974 by President Richard Nixon, via Proclamation 4288. It honors volunteers and encourage people nationwide to get involved, it has grown exponentially over the years.

Locally, TrueNorth Community Services has been celebrating National Volunteer Week for many years. An agency like TrueNorth wouldn’t be able to accomplish a fraction of what it does without volunteers. 

Continue reading to learn more about National Volunteer Week, trends in volunteering, and the many ways TrueNorth utilizes volunteers.

National Volunteer Week

Points of Light is the world’s largest nonpartisan nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating volunteer service and civic engagement. It enlists nearly 4 million people across 32+ countries every year. Founded by U.S. President George H.W. Bush in 1990, it empowers people to act as “points of light” to solve community problems through volunteering, corporate social impact programs and global network affiliates. It also acts as the primary organizer of National Volunteer Week in the US, encouraging civic engagement and volunteering.
This year’s National Volunteer Week is April 19 – 25. Nationwide, people will be rolling their sleeves up and getting involved in bettering their communities. Points of Light even has an online database of volunteer opportunities available nationwide during National Volunteer Week. April is also Global Volunteer Month, whereby volunteers and volunteering are celebrated all over the world. 

Local Opportunities

During National Volunteer Week, TrueNorth and Camp Newaygo are offering a variety of different ways to get involved. Camp Newaygo has received a mini-grant from the Michigan Community Service Commission to engage youth during Global Youth Service Day. As an Earth Day event, they will be partnering with local businesses and have youth volunteers distributing saplings. Click here for more information on this event. 

TrueNorth will also be conducting a Volunteer Appreciation Week April 19 – 25 to honor and thank their volunteers. As TrueNorth’s new Volunteer Coordinator, Madison Butler gets up to speed, there will be more ways to get involved. Fill out the volunteer interest form to learn more. 

TrueNorth offers many different ways to volunteer, with varying commitment levels. Everything from their Board of Directors, to their walk-in Food Center and from mentoring youth, to weeding gardens. They connect people to a purpose, finding the right place for volunteers to get involved and give back.    

Post-Pandemic Volunteering

According to a 2026 study published by Gallup, nationwide, volunteerism has recovered from pandemic lows. 63% of Americans say they volunteered their time to charitable organizations, a full seven percentage points higher than in 2021. 

The study also shows higher rates of volunteering among middle-aged adults and those with higher educational levels. 

Trends in Volunteerism

Some current trends in volunteerism include shifting toward flexible, short-term and virtual opportunities, with formal, long-term commitments declining and informal, neighborly help-type opportunities increasing. Driven by younger generations (Millennials/Gen Z), trends include skills-based volunteering and high-impact episodic events. 

According to a report on volunteer trends in 2026 from Momentive, we’re seeing shifts driven by three forces;

1. Competition for volunteers
2. Limited resources and staffing
3. Volunteer engagement and retention challenges

As a result of these, successful agencies are implementing recognition and appreciation programs. These give volunteers more tangible feedback on the impact of their time and efforts. Successful agencies are also offering more flexible volunteer schedules and even virtual volunteer opportunities. Lastly, successful agencies are offering training and professional development for their volunteers.  

What Experts Are Saying

Tobi Johnson is a nationally recognized expert, author and trainer in volunteer engagement, who specializes in modern, evidence-based strategies for non-profits. She is the President of Tobi Johnson & Associates and founder of VolunteerPro, an online training community for volunteer leaders. In the podcast titled, The Future of Volunteerism – Trends & Predictions Part 1, Johnson points to the following trends;

• Trend #1: Public Call for Accountability. People desire to volunteer for organizations they can trust, whose ethics and values mirror their own. People are much more apt today, to reward an organization they trust. Conversely, they are much more apt to punish ( i.e., protest or boycott) one they do not. 

“For today’s volunteers, the bottom line is that it’s not just about giving time, it’s about giving it where it truly counts in a place that we trust, in a place that we believe is accountable.” Tobi stated.   

• Trend #2: Resurgence of Mutual Aid Volunteerism. People and communities getting together for mutual aid, to help one another. This really focuses people’s efforts on local networking and problem solving of local needs. 

Tobi continues, “The future of volunteerism lies in our ability to create communities where people feel connected, valued and empowered to make a difference together.”

• Trend #3: Psychological Advances in Community and Belonging. Understanding why people take action (like getting involved as a volunteer or donor).
  
  “What do we know about human motivation now, and what could we know about how people best work in groups to further the greater good?” Tobi shared.

Corporate Volunteerism 

Another interesting and impactful trend is an increase in corporate volunteerism. Corporate volunteering is a company-sponsored program where employees use work hours or company resources to support non-profit organizations or community causes. What began as a slow rebound after the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into one of the fastest growing engines of corporate purpose. According to a 2026 report from Benevity, “corporate volunteer hours are up 175% and unique employee volunteers more than tripled since before the pandemic.”

Some key findings from Benevity’s “The State of Corporate Volunteering 2026; a System Ripe for Reimaging” are of particular interest. While the participation in corporate volunteering is rising, the impact isn’t following, as individuals are giving less time per engagement. While corporate volunteerism is on the rise in general, the needs of nonprofit organizations  both financially and for volunteers, is increasing faster and at a greater rate.   

There are more people taking part in corporate volunteerism, but they are doing so in increasingly smaller amounts of time.

Volunteering at TrueNorth

Last year, 687 400 people gave 21,102 hours of volunteer time to TrueNorth in any given year. Independent Sector, in collaboration with the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute, determines the annual estimated national and state-level value of volunteer service in the U.S. As of April 2025, they valued the 2024 national volunteer hour at $34.79, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Using these numbers, this equates to an approximate salary savings of $734,138 annually for TrueNorth. To say “volunteers are the lifeblood of TrueNorth” is a vast understatement. 

To learn more about volunteering at TrueNorth, please contact Madison Butler at (231) 924-0641, ext. 112 or mbutler@truenorthservices.org. You may also visit truenorthservices.org or click here to view a recent TrueNorth “Good Happens Here” podcast about volunteerism.