When the COVID-19 pandemic restricted most activities that brought people together, it caused a dramatic fall-off in volunteer participation. A U.S. Census Bureau and AmeriCorps survey showed that the share of island residents volunteering through organizations decreased from a respectable 32.1% in 2019 to 19.7% in 2021 — from nearly 1 in 3, to 1 in 5.

Many organizations haven’t fully recovered from that blow. Hawai‘i Literacy’s family library program, for one, lost about half of 100 or so volunteers. Find out more about this effort at hawaiiliteracy.org. Or let your own skills and interests guide you to help where the fit is best. Help if you can.