Marriage Modes The Rise of New Forms of Family


Even as the number of married couples shrinks to just more than half of all U.S. adults, the family—in all of its emerging varieties—re- mains resilient, says a new Pew Research Center nationwide survey. Most Americans’ definition of family has expanded to encompass either one or two adults living with a child. The vast majority (75 percent) of all adults consider their own family to be the most important and most satisfying element of their lives. Far more married adults say that love (93 percent), making a lifelong commitment (87 percent) and com- panionship (81 percent) are key reasons to get married, rather than having children (59 percent) or financial


stability (31 percent). Unmarried adults viewed these factors in the same order. Asked if they agree that there is only one true love for every person, fewer than 3 in 10 of total survey respondents say, “I do.”


Adult Volunteers We’ve Got Time to Help


The Corporation for National and Community Service reports that 63.4 million Americans volunteered to help their communities in 2009, 1.6 million more than the year before, and the largest single-year spike since 2003. They contributed 8.1 billion hours of service, with an estimated value of nearly $169 billion. Part-time employees proved the most generous, with a 34 per- cent volunteer rate, according to the Portland Tribune’s analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nearly 29 percent of those with full-time jobs contributed. About 23 percent of unemployed individuals volunteered. Utah was the top volunteer state, with a rate of more than 44 percent, followed by Iowa, Minnesota, Ne- braska and Alaska, all exceeding 37 percent. Large cities were led by Min- neapolis-St. Paul; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City; Seattle; and Oklahoma City, all with at least a third of their residents taking up a cause.


Mid-size cities, particularly those in the Midwest, have on average higher volunteer rates than large cit- ies, with volunteers also contributing more hours. Mid-size city stars, with a volunteer rate of between 63 and 40 percent include Provo, Utah; Iowa City; Ogden, Utah; Fort Collins, Colo- rado; and Madison, Wisconsin.


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