Why Students Should Volunteer – and How to Motivate Them to Participate

Volunteer Match
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Why Students Should Volunteer - and How to Motivate Them to Participate Giving Compass

Giving Compass’ Take:

• Basil Sadiq describes why it is critical for students to volunteer to develop their life skills and have opportunities to contribute to society. 

• How can funders help to facilitate remote volunteering opportunities for students? What causes in your area would benefit from an influx of volunteers right now? 

• Read about six ways to find high-quality volunteers.

Volunteering is more than spending one’s time actively participating in selfless acts or activities that benefit other people. It has a greater impact on society as a whole. Volunteers are of great help to the community as they immerse themselves in a pool of opportunities. These opportunities are one reason why we need to encourage more students to volunteer.

By volunteering, students develop life skills and become well-rounded individuals.

Starting young provides an opportunity for students to learn and grow into valuable members of society. They develop life skills as they get immersed in activities that are outside of their comfort zones.

Volunteering helps students become competent, employable, and better meet their learning objectives.

Another opportunity to take advantage of is becoming competent and employable after meeting all learning objectives. Volunteering also serves as a training ground for honing students’ skills.

Employers seek volunteer experience from fresh graduates.

Volunteers are reliable, selfless, responsible, and willing to do more than what is asked even without monetary compensation. These are qualities that employers look for when hiring fresh graduates.

Read the full article on student volunteers by Basil Sadiq at Volunteer Match.

If you are looking for more articles and resources for Youth Development, take a look at these Giving Compass selections related to impact giving and Youth Development.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
    Click here for more.
    D.A.R.E. and Scared Straight Don’t Work. Why Fund Them?

    Giving Compass' Take: · D.A.R.E. and Scared Straight have proven to be ineffective. Governing Magazine discusses the few places that continue to fund these preventative programs and the results they produce. · How can philanthropists make an impact on the drug crisis? What do young people need to avoid prison?  · Read about social programs and impact evaluations. In early April, the fifth graders at West Side Elementary School in Worland, Wyo., celebrated their graduation from the school’s D.A.R.E. program -- short for Drug Abuse Resistance Education -- with certificates and T-shirts. County Sheriff Deputy Colleen McClain was proud of the program. “It’s giving them ways to help them not do drugs,” she said. Efforts like McClain’s have a big fan in Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who told a D.A.R.E. conference last year that he firmly believes the program saves lives. “Your efforts work,” he said. D.A.R.E. programs date back to the 1980s, and at one point, three-fourths of the nation’s school districts had them. A generation of school kids can repeat back D.A.R.E.’s central message: Just say no. But there’s one problem. Study after study has shown that D.A.R.E. doesn’t work. Most analyses have found that it has little to no impact on reducing drug use -- and one study even showed that use increased. “I don’t get it,” one D.A.R.E. executive director said of the findings. “It’s like kicking Santa Claus to me.” Another favorite program, Scared Straight, which pulls at-risk kids off the streets and puts them in prison for a day, has also been found to be ineffective. The idea behind the program is to show kids what life behind bars would be like -- to, in effect, scare them straight. It seemed like such a good idea. A 1979 documentary on the program won both an Emmy and an Oscar. It spawned programs across the country, as well as a long-running television show on A&E. But despite the program’s popularity, the evidence is clear: The program did prove effective -- in producing more criminals. Efforts to scare kids straight not only failed to keep them out of jail, but it also, in some cases, increased the odds they’d end up behind bars. Read the full article about ineffective preventative programs by Donald F. Kettl at Governing Magazine.

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Volunteering is an important topic. Other members found these Giving Funds, Charitable Organizations and Projects aggregated by Giving Compass to be relevant to individuals with a passion for Volunteering.

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