By Michelynne McGuire | [email protected]

Some states can boast of landmarks, stadiums or winning sports teams. But what about those that can boast being the leading state for volunteerism and charitable giving? 

Hats off to the top giver as of late and in the recent past: Utah! 

Utah held this top title from 2015-2017, according to data from WalletHub, a finance information company.  Another source, Move.org, has similar information, also deeming Utah as the leading giver of time and charity as of late. 

WalletHub publishes charts each year of where all 50 states rank in volunteerism and charitable giving. In 2017, Utah took first, with Maryland coming in at second and Minnesota taking third place. For 2018, Minnesota swooped into first place, knocking Utah down to second. 

In an article written by Julia Campbell featured on Move.org on Nov. 15, 2018, Campbell said some of the reasoning behind such giving in Utah could be attributed to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints church members.  

“Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints rank highest among all religious groups for income donation, especially given the religion’s benchmark to donate 10 percent of all personal income,” wrote Campbell.

Now that we know Utah is at the top of the list in the act of charitable giving, Move.org has sought out which cities in Utah are the most charitable. 

Move.org narrowed down the list to the top 10 most charitable cities in Utah. Various factors were used when compiling the data, including the average charitable donations per residents in each city, the total number of charities in each of the cities and taking into account cities with populations of at least 10,000 people or more. 

The results pulled from Move.org for top 10 most charitable in Utah are the following:

• Alpine 
• American Fork
• Salt Lake City
• Kaysville
• Mapleton
• Ogden
• Lindon
• Centerville
• Draper 
• Farmington 

All Utahans should already feel pretty good by this news, but go ahead, give yourselves an extra pat on the back if your city made it into the top 10. You deserve it.

According to Campbell’s article, “2018’s Most Charitable Cities in Utah,” Draper has a “charity count of 170,” with an average contribution per person at $2.16, adding up to $103,355 in charitable donations. 

An inside look at one of the many charities in Utah was provided by Draper City Public Information Officer Maridene Alexander. 

Alexander has volunteered at the Candy Cane Corner over the years alongside her daughter. She noted the charity is run efficiently and the items are new and unwrapped, so people can browse for what they need. 

Candy Cane Corner is “set up like a store, really organized. When you’re volunteering it feels like going to a store,” said Alexander. They take only new donations and prefer donations to not be wrapped.  

Also, there is “no pressure when people come in. If a person is needing help, they don’t feel self-conscious — they can go and pick things out that they need; it is more personalized,” said Alexander. 

The Candy Cane Corner holiday store program even provides wrapping paper.

Alexander said in past years young children have had a nice amount of donations; in addition to those, the program could benefit by having more donations for teenagers. 

Candy Cane Corner helps low-income families and individuals who are participating in programs at the YWCA Utah, the Road Home and Volunteers of America, Utah.  

According to Candy Cane Corner’s website, they work with generous volunteers and the generosity of the community to provide a holiday store providing people in need a chance for a dignified and empowered opportunity to select new holiday gifts for their families.

For more information, visit their website: candycanecornerslc.org.