At this time of year, when many of us count our blessings, we at the library are very grateful to our volunteers and the generous people in this community who give both funds and their time to the Monrovia Public Library to help sustain the excellent services, particularly in these difficult economic times.
But the people of Monrovia are not alone in their community spirit. I couldn’t help but be struck by a recently published article in the Los Angeles Times (see link below) about the overall state of charitable giving and volunteering in the United States. According to an annual poll conducted by the international Charities Aid Foundation, the people of the United States ranked as the most generous in the world in terms of time and money in 2011, up from fifth place in 2010. Nearly two-thirds of Americans said they had donated money to charity, more than 40% volunteered their time, and close to three-fourths said they had helped a stranger. The “World Giving Index” is based on interviews with 150,000 people around the globe. Charities Aid Foundation Director of Research Richard Harrison said: This research confirms that when we look at giving in a rounded way, including the extent to which we volunteer and help strangers, America is the most generous country in the world. America is the only country that ranks in the top 10 globally on each of these three perspectives and this first place ranking should be seen as a source of real pride for people across America.”
For more on this topic, please see http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinionla/la-ed-charity-20111221,0,7950612.story
