Washington § 43.150.010 - Legislative findings.

(1) The legislature finds that:

(a) Large numbers of Washington's citizens are actively engaged in carrying forward the ethic of service and voluntary activities that benefit their citizens, their communities, and the entire state;

(b) This contribution continues to provide the equivalent of hundreds of millions of dollars in services that might otherwise create a need for additional tax collections;

(c) Many Washington citizens have yet to become fully involved in the life of their communities; many societal needs exist that could and should be met by new citizen service initiatives;

(d) The state of Washington needs to continue to encourage and expand the ethic of civic responsibility among its citizenry, through individuals working on their own, and through local and statewide organizations, both governmental and private and nonprofit agencies;

(e) This ethic of citizen service benefits those who serve and those who receive services; in both cases there is the betterment of all Washington communities;

(f) Public and private agencies depend in large measure on the efforts of volunteers for the accomplishment of their missions and actively seek to increase these efforts;

(g) State agencies can and should extend their service delivery programs through the increased use of and support for volunteers;

(h) The national and community service act of 1990 provides an opportunity for Washington to support citizen service and volunteer activities in Washington;

(i) Business, industry, communities, schools, and labor in Washington state are increasingly interested in opportunities for community service and in developing the volunteer and service ethic;

(j) While providing both tangible and intangible benefits, volunteers in turn need respect and support for their efforts;

(k) The state itself, through the programs and services of its agencies as well as through the provisions of law and rule making, can and should provide a primary role and focus for encouraging the ethic of citizen service and support for volunteer efforts and programs;

(l) Planned and coordinated recognition, information, training, and technical assistance for volunteer and citizen service efforts through a statewide center for voluntary action have been proven to be effective means of multiplying the resources volunteers bring to the needs of their communities; and

(m) It is important that Washington state position itself to raise volunteerism to the highest attainable levels, and along with the private sector, become a voice in the role citizen service will take in providing solutions to societal needs.

(2) Therefore, the legislature, in recognition of these findings, enacts the center for volunteerism and citizen service act to ensure that the state of Washington actively promotes the ethic of service and makes every appropriate effort to encourage effective involvement of individuals in their communities and of volunteers who supplement the services of private, nonprofit community agencies and organizations, agencies of local government throughout the state, and the state government.