Through Ministries United South Central Louisville, which assists the needy with everything from utility bills to meals, the Stovers help collect and distribute food and clothing. "We're more involved now because I have more time," says Linda Stover, 65, a former retail sales associate. "My husband and I do a lot of volunteer work."

Whether it's volunteering to help the poor, helping a neighbor or taking on city hall, a definitive majority of Americans (89%) say it's important to be involved in their community, according to a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll.

"You have to get involved on a bigger scale and, for one thing, know what's going on ... be aware of where the need is," Stover says.

Leonardo Neher, 88, is a retired foreign service diplomat. For more than 20 years, he has volunteered at Martha's Table, a non-profit group that helps the homeless in Washington. Every Wednesday, Neher drives a van that brings food to two locations in the city.

"It's part of my life," he says. "It's a community — a whole community of friends and acquaintances. They know me."

Cities and elected officials are tapping residents' desire to be involved by pulling them into the governing process — even letting them decide what the city should spend its money on.

One of the boldest exercises in citizen involvement is playing out in Chicago's 49th Ward.

Every ward receives $1.3 million a year to spend on roads, sewers and other infrastructure. Alderman Joe Moore let residents choose exactly where they want the money to go. Neighborhood committees were formed, drafted a list of projects they wanted to fund and put it to a vote.

In the 49th Ward's Rogers Park neighborhood, a diverse community that borders Evanston, citizens approved spending on a dog park and a community garden, among other things.

"It was a chance to have a direct choice and a vote," says Sarah Lisy, 47, who runs a block association in her neighborhood with her husband, Tom. "I don't see how people can't get involved when they live in a city. You know all your neighbors."

Lisy heads the steering committee for the "participatory budgeting" process.

"People are just more aware," she says. "If we want things to be better, we have to be involved. There's nobody else to do the job. If you want it done, stand up and do it."

Moore says letting citizens decide what to spend money on is even more crucial in a time of strapped budgets.

"Economic conditions are driving this type of activity even more," he says.

"We were able to bring out a whole new crop of people who had never been involved in their community," Lisy says.

In Portsmouth, N.H., the 12-year-old Portsmouth Listens program involves citizens in key decisions — relocating or renovating a historic middle school — by forming "study circles" that have attracted hundreds of residents in the city of about 20,000.

"In a public hearing, people get up and they speak for three minutes, they have their say, but there's not a lot of interaction between them and City Council," says Jim Noucas, 58, a lawyer and co-chair of Portsmouth Listens. "Here, they work together three to four weeks at a time and then give recommendations. It's important for citizens to share responsibility not only for what they want but what's good for everybody."

A Knight Foundation and Gallup "Soul of the Community" study found that places that have a greater percentage of residents who feel attached to their communities do better economically, says Paula Ellis, a vice president at the foundation.

"Attachment is a leading indicator of local economic prosperity," she says. "If I like where I'm from, I'm more likely to stay or shop there."

Dustin Brady, 24, married three months ago and settled in Middleburg Heights, a Cleveland suburb, partly because of its active community life.

"The whole community gets behind things," says the copywriter for an Internet marketing company. "There's a number of things you can do, from going to City Council meetings and giving your input to taking the initiative and starting projects."

Roseadonnia Range, 23, a single mother of two in Omaha, goes to school full time and does community service to receive welfare. She does not have much time to get involved but every chance she gets, she reminds friends and family to help with food and toy drives.

"I was raised middle class but also had friends who were in need of help," she says. "I also had friends who were rich. Anyway it goes, everybody has a down time at one point in their lives."