LEARNING BY DOING

Engaging Youth in Civic Activities and Community Service

The spirit of service

They collect food for the homeless. They tutor, mentor, and read to younger children. They run recycling campaigns and investigate pollution in their local drinking water. They register people to vote and work the polls on Election Day. They volunteer for nonprofit organizations and start their own charities. They raise money for schools, disaster relief, and medical research.

Forget the stereotype of adolescents hanging out on the corner without concern for what goes on in the world. Around the country, many young people are voting for the future of their communities by participating in civic activities of all sorts.

By giving back to their communities, youth also gain something for themselves. In its review of 60 studies on civic engagement, the research institute Child Trends described key findings regarding the positive benefits of political involvement and volunteerism. For instance, young people who take part in civic activities and community service may grow up to have a better work ethic than their peers. Civic-minded youth also may be more likely than other young people to do well in school and less likely to become pregnant and use drugs.

Yet, not all young people have equal access to service opportunities. For instance, youth whose parents do not participate in civic life are less likely to become involved than their peers. To become active citizens, young people need role models—parents, teachers, neighbors, mentors, service providers, and peers—willing to introduce them to the rewards and challenges of making a difference. Ultimately, young people are more likely to volunteer or vote if someone asks them to.

Tips for engaging youth in the arts

• Encourage young people to follow the news, whether through newspapers, radio, television, magazines, or the Internet, and ask them their opinions about current events. A poll of youth ages 15 to 25 found a strong relationship between following the news and being civically engaged.
  
  
• Teach youth how to identify community issues and propose solutions using a five-step problem-solving method: (1) identify the problem, (2) analyze the problem, (3) develop and implement a response, (4) evaluate your action, (5) adjust your response to the problem.
  
  
• Show young people how to find startup grants for their service projects. They might approach local businesses, put on fundraisers, or submit grant proposals to foundations and corporations. National organizations that fund youth-led projects include Do Something, Youth Service America, and Youth Venture. (Find URLs for these organizations under Resources below.) Some membership organizations, such as the National 4-H Council, award grants to youth groups affiliated with them. Learn more at www.fourhcouncil.edu/GrantsProgram.aspx.
  
  
• Celebrate National & Global Youth Service Day (www.ysa.org/nysd) in April of each year by hosting a service project planned and led by young people. The Project Plan-It Web site (www.ysa.org/planit) offers youth a free online planning tool.
  
  
• Help youth find volunteer opportunities that match their interests and passions. To begin volunteering, they might approach local nonprofit organizations they admire, become involved with service projects at their places of worship, search Web sites such as SERVEnet (www.servenet.org), or, in many States, dial 2-1-1 (or www.211.org), a phone number that connects people to community services and volunteer opportunities.
  
  
• Organize a youth advisory board at your organization or in your community to address issues of concern to young people. Make sure youth board members receive adult guidance, true leadership roles, and hands-on experience.
  
  
• Work with youth and local civic leaders to start a community youth court in which adolescents conduct trials and sentence their peers for minor delinquent and status offenses and problem behaviors.
  
  
• Find out if your school district allows young people to take Election Day off to volunteer at the polls.

Resources

Learning by Doing was developed for the Family and Youth Services Bureau; Administration on Children, Youth and Families; Administration for Children and Families; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, by the National Clearinghouse on Families & Youth (NCFY). For more information on ways to engage young people, please go to ncfy.acf.hhs.gov, or contact NCFY at (301) 608-8098.