Guide Shows How to Work With Young Volunteers

Engaging Youth in Lifelong Service: Findings and Recommendations for Encouraging a Tradition of Voluntary Action Among America’s Youth combines research by Independent Sector, in Washington, and advice by Silvia Golombek, vice president of programs at Youth Service America, in Washington, about structuring volunteer opportunities for youths. Independent Sector’s 2001 study, “Giving and Volunteering in the United States,” found that people who volunteered as youths were twice as likely to volunteer as adults and were more likely to raise children who will volunteer. Other benefits of encouraging young people to volunteer, says Ms. Golombek, include the fresh perspectives and energy they bring to nonprofit groups. She says that nonprofit organizations may need to adjust their operations to accommodate the needs of youth volunteers: They should be prepared to “share power” with youths; acknowledge and overcome stereotypes that adults and youths hold concerning each other; pay careful attention to logistics such as transportation and scheduling; and be able to provide instructions that are appropriate to the ages of their volunteers. The report includes examples of projects across the country that have successfully involved young volunteers.

Publisher: Independent Sector, 1200 18th Street, N.W., Suite 200, Washington, D.C. 20036; (202) 467-6100; fax (202) 467-6101; info@independentsector.org; http://www.independentsector.org; 36 pages; $15.95 for members; $19.95 for nonmembers.