Think teens volunteer in their communities because it makes them feel good, or because it looks good on college applications? Or do you think teens sign up for volunteer tree-planting projects because they want to save the environment?

A new study by DoSomething.org reveals some interesting insights into teens’ reasons for volunteering. Over 4,300 young people aged 13 – 22 were surveyed across the country, and here are some of the results:

• 93% of teens say they want to volunteer, but a far smaller percentage actually do.
• Teens’ volunteer habits are primarily influenced by having friends who volunteer regularly. Over 70% of teens with friends who volunteer also volunteer themselves.
• Many teens (40%) don’t volunteer through traditional organizations, but rather through clubs, friends and family, or on their own.
• Teens want volunteering to be fun, like a party. Make it social, and they will come.
• What’s on teens’ minds? Number one is paying for college. Next is getting into a college.
• The biggest reason teens don’t volunteer is lack of time.
• Many teens want to be anonymous, or help from a distance. They also want to volunteer with people their age (but not necessarily the same gender).
• Religious teens’ volunteer habits are not determined by the importance of religion in their lives, but by how often they attend religious events, including youth groups.
• Young volunteers want opportunities that are close to home, but not at home.
• Short activities that allow for different levels of engagement are preferred by teens.

It looks like the influence of their friends is most motivating when it comes to teens and volunteering. We’ll be sharing more insights from this interesting survey in coming weeks.

Tags: Motivating Volunteers, Recruiting Volunteers

This entry was posted on Friday, October 26th, 2012 at and is filed under Volunteer Management. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.