Volunteering starts with the individual

During the summer, there are community events — big and small — that bring citizens together, including Medical Lake’s Founder’s Day, the Cheney Rodeo and the Cheney Jubilee.

These events are run by organizations and unpaid volunteers who sacrifice their time and resources to make the events happen.

But the number of individuals volunteering for these and other groups have declined in the last few years. In fact, volunteering has decreased across the United States.

According to a report from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), volunteering has hit its lowest rate in more than 10 years. A...