Youth and Volunteerism: What Gives?

By Emma Glendinning

As a volunteer, I’m one of many in the world. Data from Figure 1—a survey about volunteering among a number of OECD countries—shows that at least one-fifth of the population in many countries engages in volunteer activities.¹ Though Figure 1 does not provide details on the amount of time spent volunteering—or indeed if this volunteering is one-off or recurring—we see that volunteering rates in Australia, Canada and the United States stand out for being particularly high, whereas those in Italy, Spain and Sweden are remarkably lower than the OECD average.²

Though Singapore does not feature in this poll, slightly older data (2012) ³ suggests that 32 per cent of its total population volunteered during 2012, with 43 per cent of 15–24 year olds and 28 per cent of 25–34 year olds giving their time to volunteering; ⁴ both well above the OECD average. The Singapore data also shows an interesting decline in volunteering between the ages of 25 and 34, and this could be due to the life transitions during those years. Whereas until the end of high school or college, youth were required to engage in some hours of volunteering, those of the 25–34 age group are now entering or have entered employment, and thus have fewer opportunities and/or less free time to volunteer. But volunteering trends aside, why is volunteering important and why should youth be involved?

In my opinion, it is not enough to document one’s academic abilities alone on a resumé: particularly so with growing numbers of university graduates entering the labour market amid current economic challenges, job competition is stiff. ⁵ Educational qualifications might tick one requirement box, but for fresh graduates with limited to no work experience, hobbies/interests and extracurricular activities—including volunteer work—will make their CVs stand out from the pile. ⁶ The key here, however, is the ability of volunteers to recognise and articulate the benefits and impact of such activities. Volunteering need not be life-changing, but is likely to be life-enhancing—and the job applicant who can successfully convince their potential employers that their volunteer experience has equipped them with qualities which are transferable to the working environment will put themselves in a stronger position to clinch the job.

Besides employability, the benefits of volunteering are numerous and well documented. ⁷ Alongside building confidence, individuals can develop organisational, leadership and teamwork skills in the process, and practise the ability to demonstrate commitment over weeks, months, or even years. In my experience, volunteering with the Girl Guides has enabled me to venture out of my comfort zone, whether it involves visiting unfamiliar, overseas locations, or being responsible for large-scale events.

As a part of this global organisation, I’ve also witnessed how social barriers are broken down when people of all ages and backgrounds are united for a common purpose: for instance, it is not unusual to see 18-year-old Girlguiding volunteers working alongside experienced 60 year olds, each learning skills and knowledge from the other. At the end of the day, it is not their jobs, educational qualifications or household income that bind the volunteers, but the organisation’s mission, identity and values.

Increasingly, educational institutions around the world are appreciating the importance of exposing youth to volunteer work, and are therefore setting “volunteer/service hours” requirements to complement their academic training. For example, all highschool students in Ontario, Canada have to complete 40 hours of service in order to graduate.⁸ Similarly, highschool students of Maryland, USA are to fulfil 75 hours of service before graduation,⁹  while some schools in other American states offer credits towards graduation to students completing a certain number of hours of volunteer service.¹⁰ 

In Singapore, students, too, have to participate in a mandatory Community Involvement Programme (CIP), during which they are to clock a minimum of six hours every year throughout their primary and secondary school education. ¹¹ Moreover, the International Baccalaureate Diploma programme includes a compulsory element covering Creativity, Activity and Service (CAS) that calls for its 16–19 year-old students, as part of the “service” element, to complete unpaid and voluntary service, in order to develop civic responsibility, an ethic of service, and grow in selfconfidence and maturity.¹² 

Thanks to these educational institutions, more youth are exposed to a vast array of social causes they could give their time to, and in some cases, ignite in them a passion for volunteerism. Such “outside the-classroom” learning undoubtedly makes them more aware of the impact that their actions can have on their wider community. By developing social consciousness from a young age, I believe individuals can begin to explore their life priorities and set goals based on these unique experiences.

However, in all of these school programmes, the term “service” is used rather than “volunteering”; it can be said that those who have given their time without financial reward have given it for free; however, the compulsory component to schools’ “service” programmes also means students may not have necessarily freely given their time. Some youth who are already involved in numerous extra-curricular activities, or who work parttime/weekend jobs (for financial independence, or to supplement their family income) simply cannot afford the long-term commitment of volunteering.¹⁴ 

As such, organisations may find themselves having to repeatedly train new batches of young volunteers because some cannot give of additional time beyond the mandatory requirements. In fact, according to research, the act of enforcing volunteerism may actually cause long-term volunteer rates to decrease: it showed that youth who considered themselves unlikely to volunteer but who were required to do so had less intention to continue volunteering after completing their stipulated hours.¹⁵ This was in contrast to their peers who also thought themselves unlikely to volunteer initially, but who had a stronger intention to continue volunteering after freely giving their time to service.¹⁶ Another study revealed that the students who benefitted the least from Ontario’s compulsory service were those who only completed the required number of service hours in order to graduate.¹⁷

Of course, the kinds of service opportunities provided to these youth make a difference in how much they take away from the experience. Good-quality, service-learning projects—whereby students are taught at school about social issues, and then take up a relevant service project to gain further knowledge in a real-world situation¹⁸—can have more relevance and applicability compared to ad-hoc volunteer placements. Perhaps if young people can see volunteerism as a “journey” towards acquiring life skills and building community awareness, instead of an enforced obligation, it would feel less like a duty and be a more empowering experience. On that point, I believe it is more effective to “incentivise” youth to “service” rather than to mandate it, so as to promote longer-term and more meaningful volunteering. For instance, in many districts in America,¹⁹ credits are offered to students who complete volunteer hours, though it is not compulsory to do so in order to graduate.

In addition, some youth organisations offer awards that incorporate volunteering-based clauses—such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in the UK²⁰— to allow the youth working towards these accolades to acquire many life skills and experiences in the process. Consequentially, these awards also speak volumes on college, university and job applications. In 2014, the Singapore government established the Youth Corps Singapore. This organisation, targeted at 16 to 35 year olds, aims to provide “meaningful community service”, to “ignite transformation in society” through “catalysing collaboration between youth, community service organisations and society”.²¹ With the Youth Corps, young Singaporeans can—through participation in ad-hoc or regular volunteering, leadership programmes and overseas expeditions—recognise that they are not passive citizens, but instead be empowered to work with like-minded youths to make a positive difference in their community.

By giving youth a voice and an active role to play in improving the world around them, I trust that they are much more likely to develop a passion for volunteerism, because it will stem from a deeper desire to engage with others and to contribute towards making a meaningful impact on society.

In essence, youth volunteerism comes down to the quality of engagement. Whether it is tending a community garden, coaching at a local sports’ club, providing tuition to those unable to afford it, fundraising for a charity, or serving food to people who are homeless, if volunteers understand their part in the community and the impact of their service, then their introduction to volunteering at a young age will probably continue to impact on them throughout life. School “service” programmes, mandatory or not, give youth a good headstart in terms of understanding their wider community, issues within it, and how each person can make some kind of difference. Although not all students go on to volunteer throughout their lives, those introduced to service from their youth are all the more likely to appreciate their potential to make a positive impact on their community and develop a sense of social responsibility ²³ —qualities that are greatly valued both at the workplace and in society.

Notes

1 “The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (French: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, OCDE) is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade.” Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Development

2 “The OECD average, sometimes also referred to as the country average, is the mean of the data values for all OECD countries for which data are available or can be estimated. The OECD average can be used to see how a country compares on a given indicator with a typical OECD country.” Definition from https://www.oecd.org/edu/school/programmeforinternationalstudentassessmentpisa/35002965.pdf

3 Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, “Publications & Statistics—Community”, MCCY website, 14 February 2014, at https://www.mccy.gov.sg/en/Publications_Statistics/Community.aspx

4 Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, “Publications & Statistics—Youth”, MCCY website, 14 February 2014, https://www.mccy.gov.sg/en/Publications_Statistics/Youth.aspx

5 Niall McCarthy, “Which Countries Have the Most Unemployed Graduates? [Infographic]”, Forbes, 13 October 2015, at http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/10/13/whichcountries-have-the-most-unemployed-graduates-infographic/#d25ab4fdd216; Ng Jing Ying, “As Graduate Numbers Grow, a Hard Truth: Not All Degrees Are Equal”, TODAY, 23 May 2015, at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/singapore/as-graduate-numbersgrow/1866808.html

6 Anne Fisher, “Here’s Why You Should Put Volunteer Work on Your Resume”, Fortune, 29 June 2016, at http://fortune.com/2016/06/28/volunteer-work-resume

7 Rita Altman, “The Benefits of Volunteering”, Huffington Post, 5 June 2013, at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rita-altman-rn/the-benefits-of-volunteer_b_3377383.html

8 Paulette Padanyi, Mark Baetz, Steven D. Brown and Ailsa Henderson, “Does Required Volunteering Work? Results from Ontario’s High School Community Service Program”, Social Economy Fact Sheet #23 (Spring 2009), at http://socialeconomycentre.ca/PDF/factsheets/requiredvolunteering.pdf

9 Education Commission of the States, “High School Graduation Requirement or Credit toward Graduation—Service-Learning/Community Service”, ECS website, January 2014, at http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbquest3RTE?Rep=SL1301

10 Ibid.

11 National Library Board, “Launch of Community Involvement Programme 1st October 1997”, HistorySG: An online resource guide, 2014, at http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/c78526c6-decf-4b79-b4ca-421739464884

12 International Baccalaureate Organization, “Community Service”, IBO website, at http://www.ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/what-is-the-dp/community-service

13 For more information on SMU Pendeza, see http://www.smupendeza.com

14 Lily Lou, “Op-ed: The Downside of School Volunteer Requirements”, The Prospect, 28 February 2015, at http://www.theprospect.net/op-ed-the-downside-of-school-volunteerrequirements-38685

15 Sarah D. Sparks, “Community Service Requirements Seen to Reduce Volunteering”, Education Week, 20 August 2013, at http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/08/21/01volunteer_ep.h33.html; Arthur Stukas, Mark Snyder and E. G. Clary, “The Effects of ‘Mandatory Volunteerism’ on Intentions to Volunteer”, Psychological Science 10, 1 (1999): 59–64, at https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247781198_The_Effects_of_Mandatory_Volunteerism_on_Intentions_to_Volunteer

16 Ibid.

17 Padanyi, Baetz, Brown and Henderson, “Does Required Volunteering Work?”.

18 A. Lisa Fahrenthold, “Family Volunteering and Youth Engagement in the Non-Profit Sector: An Analysis of Benefits”, Serviceleader.org, December 2003, at https://www.serviceleader.org/volunteers/familyvolunteering

19 Education Commission of the States, “High School Graduation Requirement or Credit toward Graduation—Service-Learning/Community Service”.

20 The Duke of Edinburgh's Award homepage, at http://www.dofe.org

21 Youth Corps Singapore, “Who We Are”, Youth Corps Singapore website, at https://www.youthcorps.sg/AboutUs

22 For more information, visit http://girlguiding.org.uk 23 Online College, “12 Reasons Community Service Should Be Required in Schools”, OnlineCollege.org, 27 June 2012, at http://www.onlinecollege.org/2012/06/27/12-reasonscommunity-service-should-be-required-schools