• the reasons why young people volunteer;
      
• the connections between volunteering and other forms of civic engagement, such as participation in public meetings, interest in current events, and engagement with political or social issues;
      
• the place of school, family and religious institutions in volunteer activities;
      
• differences in youth participation in volunteering, service-learning, and other types of civic engagement by such demographic characteristics as age, academic achievement, gender, race and ethnicity, and household income; and
      
• the relationship between volunteering and young people’s aspirations and belief that they can make a difference in their community.

The intention of the Corporation is to use the data gathered through the study to inform our efforts and those of other youth-serving organizations to provide youth with meaningful service activities. Research indicates that those youth who volunteer and participate in quality service-learning activities also do better in school, have more access to positive role models, feel more empowered to make a difference, and are more civically and politically engaged. Thus, the Corporation is particularly interested in providing opportunities and resources to those young people who need them the most.

This survey is the second time that the Corporation has conducted a survey of youth volunteering and civic engagement. The first survey was conducted in 2005; an overview of that survey and the reports that the Corporation published based on the study can be found below. By conducting a second survey in 2008, we will be able to look at the ways in which engagement in communities among young people have since changed since that time.

As in 2005, the U.S. Census Bureau is conducting the survey on behalf of the Corporation. Through telephone interviews, the Census aims to survey approximately 3,200 youth from families that participated in the Current Population Survey (CPS) in the past. By selecting youth from this group, we will be able connect the youth’s responses to information collected through the CPS, allowing us to ask fewer questions.

Sample Questions

The survey questions can be divided into four sections: 1) questions on basic demographics and academic achievement; 2) questions on the youth’s participation in school-based service activities; 3) questions on the youth’s volunteer activities; 4) questions on the youth’s community involvement and engagement in social and political issues. Sample questions for each of these sections are below:

1. Questions on Demographics and Academic Achievement

• How old were you on August 31, 2008?
      
• Which language do you usually speak at home?
      
• Were you in school last year?
      
• What was your overall grade average for the past year?

2. Questions on School-Based Service Activities

• Have you ever performed any community service as part of a class activity or requirement?

If an individual has performed this type of community service, they are asked several questions about the service, such as:

• Did you do any research to identify a community problem or need that would be addressed through the service project?
      
• Were you required to write about or reflect on your experience in the service project for the class?
      
• Through this service project, were you introduced to people whose background is very different from your own?

3. Questions on Volunteer Activities

• Between September 2007 and September 2008, have you done any volunteering activities through or for an organization?

If an individual has done volunteer activities during this time period, they are asked several questions about their volunteer activities, such as:

• Sometimes people don’t think of activities they do infrequently or activities they do for schools or youth organizations as volunteer activities. In the previous year, have you done any of these types of volunteer activities?
      
• Now I’d like to ask you how you became a volunteer for that organization. Did you approach the organization yourself, were you asked by someone, or did you become involved in some other way?
      
• Would you say that your volunteering experience with that organization was excellent, good, fair, poor or very poor

4. Questions on Community Involvement and Engagement in Social and Political Issues

• In the previous year have you worked with other people in your neighborhood to fix or improve something?
      
• In the previous year, did you serve in a leadership position in an organization in your school or community?
      
• Do you ever discuss politics with your parents or other adults in your household?
      
• Thinking about the problems you see in your community, how much difference do you believe you can personally make in working to solve problems you see – a great deal of difference, some difference, a little difference, almost no difference, or no difference at all?

Information for Those Selected to Participate in the 2008 Survey

If you or your child has been selected for the study, you will have received a notification letter from the Census Bureau.  An interviewer from the Census will contact you by phone to complete the survey, which will generally take between 10 and 20 minutes. If you would like to schedule a specific time for the interview or have other questions regarding the survey, please call 1-877-749-4943.

The 2005 Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey

The Corporation and the Census first conducted the Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey in 2005. At that time, we surveyed nearly 3,200 youth between the ages of 12 and 18. Based on the data gathered from the survey, the Corporation published three reports under the Youth Helping America Series. A description of the reports and the link to each report is provided below:

The Youth Helping America Series

The Youth Helping America Series presents reports on the contributions of America’s youth through volunteering and service-learning. The following reports are based on data gathered through the 2005 Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey:

Building Active Citizens: The Role of Social Institutions in Teen Volunteering (November 2005)

This report looks at the role of families, schools and religious institutions in the likelihood that a youth will volunteer in their community.

• Read more (PDF)

Educating for Active Citizenship: Service-Learning, School-Based Service and Youth Civic Engagement (March 2006)

This report looks at the extent to which young people participate in school-based service-learning activities and the relationship between service-learning participation and other forms of civic behaviors and attitudes, particularly among youth from disadvantaged circumstances.

• Read more (PDF)

Leveling the Path to Participation: Volunteering and Civic Engagement among Youth from Disadvantaged Circumstances (March 2007)

This reports looks at volunteering activities among youth from disadvantaged circumstances; the reasons why they volunteer; the ways in which social institutions might encourage these youth to volunteer; and differences in civic attitudes and behaviors between those who volunteer and those who do not.

Read more (PDF)

About the Corporation for National and Community Service

The Corporation for National and Community Service is a federal agency that improves lives, strengthens communities, and fosters civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the Corporation engages four million Americans of all ages and backgrounds in service through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs. For more information, visit http://www.nationalservice.gov.