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

About the project

This project has explored volunteering by young people aged 16–24 years in Australia. Through examination of survey material, discussions with groups of young people and interviews with community leaders and volunteer organisations it has investigated:

• the kinds of volunteering in which young people participate;
• the reasons young people do/do not volunteer;
• any costs associated with volunteering by young people, for volunteer organisations and for the young people themselves; and
• the benefits and outcomes of volunteering by young people, for themselves and community and volunteer organisations.

Main findings

The study found that young people have understandings of "volunteering" that are much broader and more complex than the definition of the term laid down by Volunteering Australia1. Instead, their understandings of "volunteering" encompass activities that a previous study by Soupourmas and Ironmonger (2002) refer to as "informal volunteering". This includes community service activities outside specific organisations and activities of mutual aid that occur within communities that are crucial to community life and the building of "social capital".

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. They represented many different attitudes, ideas, aspirations and lifestyles.

The vast majority demonstrated positive or strongly positive attitudes toward "community" and to "getting involved" in some kind of "community activity". In addition, almost all 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.

They also identified five main factors that have a positive influence on their participation in volunteer activities:

• compulsory community service;
• role models;
• previous volunteering experience;
• religious belief or activity; and
• advertising.

However they also indicated the existence of barriers that hinder young people from volunteering. These can be of two main kinds: internal (personal) barriers connected to their individual characteristics, capabilities and commitments; and external barriers such as social attitudes, the formal structure and arrangement of volunteering and inadequate information about volunteering opportunities.

Their comments indicate that when young people consider participating in a volunteer activity most of them look for three aspects in particular:

• activities that engage their passions and interests and give them opportunities to put their values and convictions into action;
• activities that involve other young volunteers and/or young people as the object of the volunteer activity, e.g. youth programs, camps, care for young people with disabilities; and
• activities where they can see that their help is needed and their efforts have an impact.

Within the broad framework of these three major considerations the specific volunteer activity that each person undertakes (and some participate in more than one) reflect their individual characteristics and circumstances including:

• where they live;
• their age and skills;
• their language/cultural background;
• the church or religious community they belong to;
• their personal development needs and goals;
• their career goals;
• the time they have available to devote to voluntary activities;
• their gender;
• previous community service or involvement; and
• the information they have about volunteering opportunities.

The young people also indicate that they obtain considerable benefits from their participation in community/volunteer activities. More specifically they identify five main types of individual benefits:

• satisfaction and affirmation;
• social engagement;
• personal growth and development;
• acknowledgement and appreciation; and
• career benefits.

They also indicate that most benefits are gained when the volunteering experience is a positive one. Positive experiences are those that include:

• working with or for other people, especially other young people;
• being able to work in teams rather than alone;
• having a variety of interesting tasks;
• having some control over what tasks are done and how they are done;
• having input into goals and objectives and being able to work toward them;
• having opportunities to use skills and creativity;
• having opportunities to gain new skills;
• being given appropriate levels of responsibility – not too much to be stressful but not so little that they areunder constant direction;
• being given opportunities to move upwards through an organisation to new responsibilities;
• being welcomed into an organisation by other workers or volunteers;
• being able to see the results of their efforts; and
• being appreciated and rewarded.

Though the community and volunteer organisations interviewed for this project were diverse in many respects, all demonstrate a concern for the wellbeing and development of young people. They also all see involvement in community activities such as volunteering as a way for young people to learn about themselves, to develop their skills, confidence and capabilities while also contributing to their communities. The organisations value young volunteers because:

• they provide energy and enthusiasm;
• they have useful skills and ideas;
• they help to build relationships with the community, particularly with young people;
• they help to renew and re-invigorate the organisation; and
• they are future community leaders.

These benefits outweigh the costs of having young volunteers, which are little different from the costs of having volunteers in general. On the whole, volunteer organisations are aware of the difficulties that hinder some young people from becoming involved in volunteering, they are also mostly aware that they need to make changes to enable more young people to become involved. Organisations that are the most successful in attracting and retaining young people appear to be those that:

• recognise the lifestyle issues that young people face, particularly the demands on their time;
• keep training short and provide opportunities for young people to move quickly from training to active involvement;
• offer young people opportunities to participate in activities that suit their skills and enthusiasm;
• talk to young people in language that is familiar to them and that they can understand; and
• have charismatic leaders with a high media profile or offer opportunities for young people to meet and work with high profile groups or individuals.

Key messages

The project has seven key messages.

1. Young people are community-minded.
2. Some young people face barriers to volunteering.
3. Young people value some types of community/volunteer activities above others.
4. Young people benefit from volunteering, especially when the volunteering experience is a positive one.
5. Young volunteers are valued by volunteer organisations.
6. Some volunteer organisations are more attractive to young people than others.
7. Action to encourage young people to participate in volunteering, and to increase the benefits they gain from it would be particularly effective if it was concentrated on:
• addressing the barriers to volunteering; and
• ensuring that participation in community/volunteer activities is a positive experience.

Further research

While this research has helped to answer some questions it has also raised others. Thus it points to a few areas where further research might be useful in providing a more comprehensive picture of young people and volunteering in Australia.

1. The formation of attitudes to volunteering during late primary schooling and early years of high school – what factors influence attitudes and what steps could be taken to ensure more positive attitudes? To what extent do the views of young people aged 18+ reflect these early attitudes? What factors change views? What factors confirm views?
2. The extent and nature of differences in views of, and participation in, volunteering among young people according to social and cultural background. What are they? Why do they occur? What can be learned from them?
3. Whether and how volunteering by young people differs in Australia from overseas and whether Australia might learn from overseas experience. Comparative work could explore the nature of effective programs and whether aspects of them could be transplanted to the Australian context.
4. Further case study work could be undertaken to provide further information about the reasons for the success of some volunteer organisations in recruiting and retaining young people.
5. The gender aspects of volunteering by young people. How strong is the gender effect? How does it work? What factors strengthen it? Ameliorate it?