Hawai'i has a well-deserved reputation for its strong tradition of community service; helping others seems to be second nature.

So it's not surprising to see the success of the Peace Corps in recruiting here.

In the agency's annual report of volunteer home states, Hawai'i had 36 Peace Corps volunteers in 2008 — up more than 70 percent from the 21 volunteers last year.

It was the highest percentage increase in the nation for the second year in a row. In 2006, Hawai'i sent 10 volunteers into service.

Hawai'i's spirit mirrors the Peace Corps itself, which began as an idea that Sen. John F. Kennedy expressed in a 2 a.m. speech to Michigan college students in 1960.

"How many of you who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana?" he asked, as he urged them to consider "one or two years in the service."

He continued: "And I think Americans are willing to contribute. But the effort must be far greater than we have ever made in the past."

Those words have borne fruit. Since the Peace Corps was founded in 1961, more than 195,000 Americans have served — including nearly 1,300 from Hawai'i — promoting friendship, peace and service around the globe.

Applications are up 16 percent this past year, and President-elect Barack Obama plans to double the number of volunteers by 2011. In today's volatile world, the growing Corps is a heartening trend.