Passions, People and Appreciation: Making Volunteering Work for Young People 

The results of a number of surveys conducted in recent years suggest that fewer young people participate in volunteering than older people, and that some particular groups participate more than others.

For instance in Australia:

• surveys of volunteering and time use for the Australian Bureau of Statistics (Wilkinson and Bittman 2002) found that volunteering increases with age;
• a study of volunteering in Victoria by Soupormas and Ironmonger (2002) found that almost half the population in regional Victoria gave time to volunteering compared with 29 per cent of people living in Melbourne; and
• several studies indicate that people from non-English speaking backgrounds are under-represented among volunteers (Premiers Department NSW 2002, Selby Smith and Hopkins 2001 and 2002).

Our survey of volunteering among people studying at two Victorian TAFE institutes – one in a regional area and one in a metropolitan area – also found differences in participation in volunteering between people in different age groups and from different backgrounds. More students at the regional than the metropolitan institute and more females than males were current volunteers or would like to volunteer in the future. Only 10 per cent of those aged under 20 were volunteers compared with 27 per cent of those aged 40–59 and while 27 per cent of people aged under 20 had positive attitudes to volunteering 35 per cent of those aged 20–39 and 48 per cent of 40–59-year-olds had similar attitudes (see Appendix 2).

Similarly, our analysis of responses in the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), to questions about participation in "community volunteer work" also found variations between people with different characteristics. However, the extent of these variations was often modest, leading to the conclusion that people from all backgrounds participate in community volunteer work (see Box 1 and Appendix 1).

An understanding of why some people are more likely to be volunteers than others – even if the differences between them are small – will be useful in identifying ways to promote and encourage participation.

Box 1:

Which young people participate in community volunteer work?

Among young people participating in the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY):

Participation in community volunteer work is widespread across all categories of young people.

Overall levels of participation and participation for particular types of volunteer work vary among young people from different personal and cultural backgrounds. Those more likely to participate at least monthly in community volunteer work were (in descending order):

• from the highest fifth of socioeconomic status backgrounds;
• from the more positive categories of self-concept;
• from families in which both parents had been born in Australia;
• women;
• in part-time work, part-time study, or both;
• Indigenous;
• better-performed at school;
• from rural areas; or
• young people with a disability.

By age 20, 52 per cent of the panel had participated in community volunteer work. At age 20, 20 per cent took part in community volunteer work at least once a month while 35 per cent had participated in the preceding year. At age 21, 23 per cent took part in community volunteer work at least once a month (see Appendix 1 for full tables and discussion).

In a later section we thus discuss some of the barriers to volunteering that emerged during the course of our study. However, an important conclusion that can be drawn from the diverse understandings of "volunteering" among the young people participating in this project is that the results of surveys asking them if they are volunteers, or do any voluntary or community work/activity, probably tell only a part, potentially a very small part, of the story. Our discussions with young people confirmed that many of them take part in activities that they do not think of as "volunteering", although these activities would meet formal and narrow definitions of the term, and many more take part in activities that fall within a broader understanding of "volunteering". Thus:

• survey results probably underestimate the number of young people involved in voluntary activities;
• survey results probably underestimate the range of voluntary activities that young people are involved in; or
• survey results probably underestimate the amount of time that young people spend on volunteering.

The young people who took part in discussions for this project varied in ages from 16–24. They were from diverse language, cultural and social backgrounds. They lived in metropolitan cities, regional centres, rural areas and different Australian States. Some were still in school, TAFE or university, some were in work, some were looking for work or study opportunities. A few were neither in work nor study. They represented different youth sub-cultures such as "goths", "ravers", "geeks" and "homies". On the face of it they appeared to have little in common besides their youth. However the vast majority demonstrated positive or strongly positive attitudes toward "community" and to "getting involved" in some kind of "community activity". Moreover, almost all of them were able to identify at least one voluntary activity that they were involved in, whether formally or informally, "compulsorily" or by choice, primarily for their own benefit or for someone else's. Nevertheless, when they were asked to describe the type of person who typically volunteers many of them tended to look outside their own group and identify this person as someone with different characteristics. They downplayed their own involvement. For instance, some participants suggested that volunteering was something done primarily by older people:

… it seems to be an old person's thing …

that volunteers are typically people who have more spare time than they do:

… (It's) for people who don't have anything to do whereas, you know, we've got sport and we've got all this …

or people with more skills and experience than themselves:

… older, smarter people …

A common view of a volunteer was someone who is giving and not concerned with personal gain:

People that do volunteer see other things (than money) more important …

One of those generous type people.

and outgoing in nature:

Because they're doing work in the community they need to be able to communicate with people at all levels so they need to be a very outgoing person …

But the participants did not seem to recognise these qualities readily in themselves, even when they were already engaged in formal volunteering:

… I'm not doing it because I'm this wonderful person who wants to help people.

… I got involved because I'm shy and I wanted to get over it …

In fact, overall they seemed to be very hard on themselves and each other. As well as tending to discount their own participation in volunteering they tended to downplay any reasons they had for volunteering that might suggest they were selfless or altruist and to give undue emphasis to more personal motivations:

You do it (a school development program) because you think it's one less class, it's going to be a bludge also you get the training and it looks good on your CV …

… there's very much a vested interest in me doing it … I'm not doing it because I'm this wonderful person who wants to help people … I mean that's definitely part of it but there are heaps of benefits that I get out of it too …

A group of participants who were still at school suggested that tertiary students only a little older than themselves were more likely to be volunteers than they were, because tertiary students would have more skills, would have a broader view of the world and would be more sought after by volunteer organisations:

It's too hard at 16, 17 …

When you're below that age you can't do much … can't drive … very limited time …

In uni you're exposed to the world, you start to look more at the wide world than the small community you're in …

Yet the vast majority of students in this group were already engaged in one or more voluntary activities – including some they had organised themselves, as well as some organised through schools or voluntary organisations.

In an interesting contrast, a group of participants who were mostly university students suggested that younger (school age) students would be more likely to spend time on voluntary activities than they did. Younger students, they considered, were likely to have fewer demands on their time (except during the last year of school) and so more time to devote to voluntary activities. In addition, they would have opportunities to undertake voluntary activity as part of the school curriculum. Yet these university students were also all involved (sometimes substantially) in one or more voluntary activities. Further discounting their own involvement they also suggested that older, retired people would volunteer more than they did.

Similarly, participants from rural or regional areas acknowledged participation and interest in volunteering there:

People tend to do their own thing in the city whereas in the country people live more close together and probably know each other better so are more willing to help each other …

But they were loath to take much credit for this and simultaneously suggested that voluntary activities were much more likely to be hidden from view in the cities:

Maybe we see country people volunteer more because we see everyone in the city just walking past and there may be just as many people in the city helping out but because it's such a larger (place) … it's so much more diluted …

The question of which young people volunteer – and which groups or individuals are more likely to volunteer than others – is thus difficult to answer. There are differences, as the surveys suggest, but the extent of these differences seems to be small – and because many people have different understandings of "volunteering" may be even smaller than survey responses suggest.

No clear patterns emerged from our discussions with young people. As we said earlier, regardless of age, background, or personal characteristics almost all of them appeared to be involved in a voluntary activity of some kind – sometimes formal, sometimes informal. Rather than differences in overall levels of participation we noted only some differences in the types of activities that individuals from different groups undertook.

Most obvious was a difference between the younger and older project participants. For instance, in the case of the youngest (16–17-year-olds) voluntary activity was often a part of the school curriculum, or school organised extra-curricula programs. However, many participants also appeared to take part in additional voluntary activities, particularly if parents, other family members, friends or an extended community such as a language/cultural community, were involved. Many of these activities, but not all, would be described as "informal" volunteering:

• a group of young participants of mixed cultural but common religious background had organised, with assistance and encouragement from parents, to present Christmas music for residents in retirement centres;
• many young participants were engaged in voluntary activities with school bands or teams (sporting etc.);
• some young participants offered sports coaching to younger players in sporting clubs;
• some were undertaking voluntary activities to qualify for a Duke of Edinburgh's award;
• some assisted family members with activities in social or business groups (e.g. Rotary, Cultural associations); and
• some (particularly young people from regional or rural areas) were engaged in youth development programs run by large volunteer organisations (e.g. emergency services, surf-lifesaving).

Older participants (18–24-year-olds) appeared much more likely to be involved in formal volunteering through organisations – some of them having completed youth development programs, or similar, in the same organisation when they were younger. They also often chose voluntary activities that would give them skills they thought would be useful for the future – both personal skills (e.g. communication, teamwork) and more overtly vocational (skills to perform specific tasks).

However, the line between the two groups was not clearly drawn and there were some activities in which both the younger and older participants took part. For instance, a group of young people who were organising events for other young people through the local government were of mixed ages, as well as backgrounds. Moreover, some of the younger participants complained that they were not able to volunteer within a formal organisation, even though they wanted to do so, due to age restrictions.

While it was difficult for us to detect clear differences in participation in voluntary activities by people from different backgrounds and with diverse characteristics, some of the project participants seemed to have a clearer perception of the type of person they thought would be unlikely to volunteer:

You wouldn't expect someone with a Mohawk and nose rings and 50 tattoos to do it … I'm not saying that they don't do it – but that's not what comes to mind when you think "volunteer".

… they can't be like one of those popular snobby brainy kind of people … because they only care about themselves …

In today's society a lot of young kids … computers, television, hitting a button, forced to go to school, I don't see those type of people as being those likely to (volunteer) …

Things today seem to be a lot easier to come by, you're really in a fast food culture, like it's a lot easier to have things handed for you and you don't have to … and so people I suppose may not be used to making an effort to achieve things because some things are so easily achievable … where a lot of activities you volunteer for may require effort – a lot of people are so lazy …

However, on the whole participants tended to agree that:

… There is a wide spread of volunteers.

Summary

Young people have diverse understandings of "volunteering". Thus the results of surveys asking them if they are volunteers, or do any voluntary or community work/activity, probably tell only a part of the story. Many participate in activities that they do not think of as "volunteering", although these activities would meet formal and narrow definitions of the term, and many more take part in activities that fall within a broader understanding of "volunteering".

Young people discount their own involvement in volunteer activities and tend to view a "typical volunteer" as someone with characteristics very different from their own.

It is difficult to identify definitively the characteristics of young people who volunteer – and to determine which groups or individuals are more likely to volunteer than others. Although there are differences between groups, the extent of these differences is often small – and because many people have different understandings of "volunteering" may be even smaller than survey responses suggest.

Regardless of age, background, or personal characteristics almost all of the young people participating in this project appeared to be involved in a voluntary activity of some kind – sometimes formal, sometimes informal. Rather than differences in overall levels of participation there were only some differences in the types of activities that individuals from different groups undertook. Most obvious was a difference between the younger and older project participants with the latter more likely to engage in formal activities through volunteer organisations and the former more likely to take part in school-based community work or "informal" volunteering.