The dominant trend we read about community service in the U.S. is that the share of Americans who volunteer is falling.

• But there's a silver lining that much of the coverage overlooks: the share of Americans informally helping one another is sky-high.

🧮 By the numbers: Americans' formal volunteer participation rate fell 7 percentage points, from 30% in 2019 to 23% in 2021, according to a recent survey from AmeriCorps and the U.S. census.

• At the same time, more than half (51%) of Americans said they informally contributed their time or money in 2021.
• Informal volunteering includes such aid as helping a neighbor with child care or running an errand for a sick friend.

🏙️ Rates of informal giving were high in big cities as well as rural states.

• 58% of Bostonians and 55% of Chicagoans helped out, for example.
• The states with the highest share of residents informally volunteering were Montana (69%) and Nebraska (66%).

🇺🇸 Veterans (59%) were likelier than non-veterans (51%) to lend a helping hand.

• Rates of informal volunteering were high among boomers (59%) and parents with kids under the age of 18 (59%).

🔎 Reality check: Although many of us are stepping up to assist neighbors, family and friends, the declining share of Americans formally volunteering is hurting nonprofits, Fortune reports.

• Organizations that rely on volunteers to provide food, shelter and other services to those in need are strained and struggling to recruit.

The bottom line: Community service not only makes a difference in other people's lives, but can improve your mental health, provide a sense of purpose and build support systems, Axios Chicago’s Justin Kaufmann notes.

For the beach days you've got left, here's a summer jam from reader Kevin H., from San Jose, Calif.: "Someday" by Sugar Ray.

• "A lot of it comes down to the vibes the song gives," he writes. "A very relaxed feeling that you can kind of drift away into. Honestly just letting your worries melt away."

🎧 Listen.