Volunteering Benefits Teens, but 'Class Gap' a Concern

Volunteering produces many positive benefits for teens from low-income backgrounds, according to a new study by the Corporation for National and Community Service.  The study found teens become empowered, are more likely to become politically engaged, and believe they will graduate from college and make a difference in their communities.

But the study also found a disturbing "class gap" in teen volunteer rates. Youth from disadvantaged circumstances have a volunteer rate of 43 percent, compared with 59 percent for other youth. They are also much less likely than other youth to take part in service-learning or school civic clubs.

"This study highlights service as one of our most effective and positive interventions in a young person's life," said David Eisner, the CEO of the federal agency that oversees service and volunteering. "For youth at risk of hopelessness and despair, service builds social networks, trust, confidence, skills, initiative, and lots of other tools that can help them succeed in life.  We need to do two things -- reach more disadvantaged youth through service, and help more providers of youth services to engage young people as assets rather than simply treating them as clients."

The study, "Leveling the Path to Participation: Volunteering and Civic Engagement among Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances," is based on interviews with 3,178 American ages 12 to 18 conducted between January and March 2005.

The overall rate of teen volunteering is robust and is on the rise. In 2004, more than 15.5 million teenagers volunteered, contributing more than 1.3 billion hours of service. That translates into a rate of 55 percent, more than double the rate of adults. The rate of volunteering among older teenagers (ages 16 to 19) today is more than double what it was in 1989.

Youth experts have long believed that the act of serving others can build confidence, a sense of responsibility, and social connectedness that is beneficial both to the young volunteer and the larger community. The study confirmed that youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who volunteer demonstrated more positive civic attitudes and behaviors than youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who didn't.

Disadvantaged youth volunteers are almost 40 percent more likely to believe that they can make some difference or a great deal of difference in their community; nearly 50 percent more likely to say they are very likely to graduate from a four-year college; twice as likely to discuss politics with their parents, other adults, or friends; and 3.5 times more likely to say they are very likely to volunteer in the next year.

In looking at where youth from disadvantaged backgrounds volunteer, clear patterns emerge. They are more likely to volunteer with religious organizations and less likely to volunteer with youth civic or leadership groups. Forty-eight percent of youth from disadvantaged backgrounds say they volunteer because of their religious or spiritual beliefs, compared with 36 percent of other youth volunteers. In addition, 39 percent of youth from disadvantaged circumstances who volunteer do so through religious congregations, compared with 33 percent of other youth.

School is another key driver of volunteering by youth from disadvantaged backgrounds. Youth are most likely to volunteer because they are asked, and a teacher is the most likely person to make the request. Service-learning -- a teaching method that combines academic instruction with community service -- has proven to be especially effective in helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds become more engaged in learning and do better in school.

In looking at motivations, youth from disadvantaged circumstances gave the same primary reason for volunteering as their peers from higher income backgrounds -- to help others. But the groups split ways when asked about other motivations to volunteer. Youth from disadvantaged circumstances are much more likely than non-disadvantaged youth to be motivated to volunteer in order to gain work experience.

Download a pdf of the report.