Youth volunteering on decline since Sept. 11
Posted on 27. Apr, 2009 by Admin in News, Research
by the Associated Press (April 22, 2009)
How do our youth measure up in the area of community service with youth from previous graduating classes?
“An analysis of federal data has found that the percentage of teens who volunteer dipped in recent years, ending an upward trend that began after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
“CIRCLE researchers used data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey for their study. . . . They found that one in three teens, age 16 to 18, volunteered in 2005, representing a peak in community service for all age groups since the survey began tracking volunteerism in 2002.
“In 2006, however, that rate dropped to 29 percent and then to 28 percent in 2007, the most recent year for whic
h data is available. Those are the lowest percentages for that age group since the data has been collected and just one percentage point higher than adults 25 and older each of those years.
“Separate market research done for VolunteerMatch, an online site that links visitors with about 63,000 nonprofit groups, found a similar decline in queries from under-18 users.”
While the data from both reports is telling, UEC is optomistic that today’s youth will rise to the challenges of our brave new world. However, we as citizens and educators must be the example for them. They must see us serving.
Read the entire article here.