Volunteer service poll ranks Maine 15th

PORTLAND – Maine and northern New England have taken knocks in an annual index of charitable giving. But residents of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont are more giving of their time.

A ranking by the percentage of residents 16 and older who perform volunteer service puts Vermont in eighth place, Maine in 15th place and New Hampshire in 18th place.

Overall, the Corporation for National and Community Service says the national volunteer rate fell in 2007 for the second year in a row, to 26.2 percent. It was 37 percent in Vermont, 33.3 percent in Maine, and 31.5 percent in New Hampshire.