In the midst of a slumping economy, more Hawai'i residents are turning to volunteering as a way to build a resume, get a job and help their community.

A new report from the Corporation for National and Community Service shows that 234,200 Hawai'i adults volunteered in 2008, up from 231,900 the year before.

Nationally, almost a million more people donated their time to causes in 2008 than in 2007, even though volunteer rates typically drop during economic downturns, according to the survey by CNCS, an independent federal agency that runs AmeriCorps and other programs.

In Hawai'i, the Aloha United Way has received more inquiries this year than ever from people looking to volunteer, said Judith Cantil, assistant vice president of community building for the nonprofit.

"I am seeing an increase in the number of people looking for jobs that think working for an organization might increase their chances of finding (work)," she said.

Cantil said that in the past two days she has received offers from two accountants, one with about 40 years of experience and one right out of college.

"They were totally willing to volunteer, but as a strategy (for a future job) it's not a bad strategy," Cantil said, adding that the applicants might have positions offered to them from local organizations looking for financial help.

Lisa Maruyama, president and chief executive officer of the Hawai'i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, said she has also seen an increase in specialized employees turning to volunteer work during their extra time.

"You see professionals that have skills that are hard to come by — accountants and lawyers — that are looking for work and have skills that can be very expensive when you have to pay for them, and I think it's a great time for nonprofits to take advantage of that," Maruyama said.

VITAL TO HEALTH

The CNCS study said that volunteers have become vital to the health of a community. Between September 2008 and March 2009, more than a third of nonprofit organizations reported increasing the number of volunteers they used, and almost half — 48 percent — foresaw increasing their usage of volunteers in the coming year.

"As a nonprofit, we are expected to create the same amount of services with less funds. I think a lot of nonprofits are really turning to volunteers for help to fill that void," Maruyama said.

A recent effort to spruce up the Kuhio Park Terrace housing project in Kalihi drew an overflow crowd of 350 volunteers that included a mix of residents and other civic-minded community members. Volunteers spent the morning picking up trash, repainting traffic and parking lines, pulling weeds and planting trees and plants in the common areas as part of the cleanup organized by the Institute for Human Services, Kanu Hawai'i and the Hawai'i Public Housing Authority.

Wilbert Ho, 81, of 'Aiea volunteers at seven different organizations, including as vice president of 'Aiea's Lions Club, where he has been a continuous member since 1981. Ho supports volunteering as a way to get a job, but hasn't seen an increase in applicants at his organizations.

"I think it is (a great way to get a job)," he said. "When you volunteer, you assess all these different kinds of people and all the different life in the community.

"More people are staying home with their families, instead of volunteering. It's not like the old days when children stayed with grandma and grandpa and people had more time. Today, more families move out on their own and rent their own home and don't have the time to volunteer."

RANKING DROPS

Hawai'i slipped a few notches in the latest study in terms of the percentage of the population who volunteer. With 23.5 percent of residents doing some kind of volunteer service in 2008, Hawai'i ranked 44th nationally, down from 42nd in 2007. However, Hawai'i ranked 30th in hours contributed per resident, with 34.9 hours, according to the study.

Canil speculated that the humble attitude of many Hawai'i residents keeps them from saying they had done volunteer work and thus contributed to the lower number.

Another 24,371 individuals worked with their neighbors to fix a problem or improve a condition in their community but did not serve through an organization, according to the study.

Altogether, Hawai'i volunteers contributed $702.5 million in service, placing the dollar value of a volunteer hour at $20.25.

In total, 26.4 percent of the adult population of the U.S., or roughly 61.8 million people, contributed 8 billion hours of volunteer service worth $162 billion in 2008.