A recent New Zealand study with 25 young volunteers (aged 18-30) has found It can be tough to work within established organisations. This report The ability to change stuff up’: volunteering as a young person within established organisations involved in-depth interviews of the experiences of volunteers for a large variety of organisations in Canterbury, Aotearoa.

Some volunteer-involving organisations reported challenges attracting and engaging young volunteers. However, when they have been able to engage younger volunteers, volunteer-involving organisations report great work being done by those younger volunteers. Volunteers are increasingly preferring episodic or project-based volunteering compared to more regular hours and long term commitments. This trend is more prevalent for young volunteers.

Latest research on youth and volunteering

Young people volunteering: Removing the barriers

This report from Queensland Australia’s Family and Child Commission provides a comprehensive review of youth volunteering. The report first identifies key benefits of volunteering for younger Australians and then outlines employment and economic value of volunteering in Queensland. After explaining the impact of volunteering on individual and community well-being, the report provides an overview of key barriers and opportunities of volunteering. There are two informative appendices that introduce legal and policy aspects of volunteering, and a snapshot of volunteering across Australia, respectively.

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YOUTH VOLUNTEERING: SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE’S ENGAGEMENT IN COVID-19 RESPONSE AND RECOVERY 

This report is prepared by The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which is the global development network of the United Nations. The UNDP promotes technical and investment cooperation among nations and advocates for change and connects countries to knowledge, experience, and resources to help people build a better life for themselves. The current report begins with an overview of the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on young people. Young women, young and youth, and youth in lower income countries are identified to have been systematically, deeply, and disproportionately influences by the pandemic. Turning its attention to the role of volunteering in youth’s empowerment, the report highlights the benefits of volunteering, and identifies challenges and opportunities around youth and volunteering. Next, the contributions of youth volunteers to the COVID-19 response and recovery are identified and recommendations are made to seize the potential benefits of youth volunteers.

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Designing virtual volunteering programs for young people

Prepared by the “Volunteer Toronto” and “Pledges for Change”, this is a practical guide for non-profit groups and organisations looking to create, improve, and/or enhance their youth (under 18) virtual volunteering programmes. The guide starts off by providing a background of the project before making a strong case for virtual volunteering, both in the immediate and long term. The impact of the COVID-19 on Canada’s non-profit groups is explained and the need for engaging young people through virtual volunteering programmes elaborated. After identifying challenges of virtual volunteering, the report develops a comprehensive strategy for virtual volunteering programmes and goes on to introduce a seven-step management cycle for a typical youth volunteer programme. Finally, 6 tools are introduced to create a successful youth virtual volunteering programme. 

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Long-Term Consequences of Youth Volunteering: Voluntary Versus Involuntary Service

This academic research aims at addressing major gaps in knowledge about youth volunteering. The research draws data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (in the United States) to examine the long-term effects of youth volunteering on the civic and personal aspects of volunteers’ lives. The findings indicate youth volunteering has a positive impact on adult volunteering. The research also confirms the psychological benefits of youth volunteering as well as improved educational attainment and earnings in young adulthood. This paper also provides an interesting analysis and comparison of youth participation in voluntary versus involuntary programs.

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Research report: Youth volunteering in Auckland, 2019

This research has been conducted in the Unitec Institute of Technology and sponsored by Volunteering Auckland. Through interviewing volunteer managers and coordinators responsible for young volunteers’ engagement, the contribution of young volunteers to communities as well as the personal benefits to young people derived from their volunteering are identified and analysed. The research provides an overview of volunteer activities, motivations, attraction and engagement, and challenges and barriers of volunteering for youth aged between 13 and 18.

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