An Indiana-based expert says volunteers contribute $173-billion dollars of service every year.
Dr. Sara Konrath is an assistant professor at the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.
She says the Corporation for National and Community Service‘s latest report that ranks Indiana 23rd among states when it comes to volunteerism.
Konrath says volunteers often help keep not-for-profit organizations in business.
She says anyone can volunteer and the best volunteers make those who tap into their personal passion and values.
"In fact we've done some research on our lab finding that when people volunteer because they want to help people or it fulfills their personal values, it's better for their health, they're more likely to live longer," says Konrath.
The report says 62.5 million Americans volunteered for nearly 7.7 billion hours this year.
However, that‘s down slightly from 64.5 million Americans who volunteered nearly 7.9 billion hours last year.