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This article reports the results of an analysis of the relationship between cultural statuses and the socialization of youth into civic roles. The data tell an interesting story regarding perceptions of community service program experiences among students from different racial/ethnic backgrounds and schools with different class and racial/ethnic characteristics. Findings from the quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal important similarities and differences among race/ethnic groups in their community service experiences that have direct theoretical, policy, and practical implications.

AbstractThe recruitment of young people into volunteering activities is the primary focus of this article. We examine which teenagers volunteer, the ways that teenagers become involved in volunteer activities, and why teenagers do not volunteer. Teenagers who volunteer tend to have dominant status, that is, access to social power, high personal competency, and socialization into volunteer experiences through family, church, and school. Personal contact with family, friends, and teachers who are involved with service, prior participation in school‐ and church‐based service, and personal initiative lead teenagers to learn about and engage in volunteering activities. Teenagers who do not volunteer often do not have sufficient time or interest. Differences exist among teenagers as to which factors prompt volunteering. For example, teenagers who are white, have parents who volunteer, and attend religious services are more likely than others to learn about volunteer activities through organizations, and teenagers with higher personal competency (grade point averages) are more likely than others to learn about volunteering activities at school. The article includes suggestions for recruitment policy and management of teenage volunteers.

The purpose of this research was to illuminate high schools' roles in encouraging volunteer community service. The authors sought to answer four questions: (a) What is the extent and distribution of secondary schools that sponsor or provide volunteer service programs, (b) how do secondary schools promote or support volunteering among students, (c) what is the rationale for offering community service, and (d) what is the conceptual relationship between school auspices and community service offerings? The findings generally support the expected differences between public and private schools; for example, private religious schools are most likely to mandate service experiences for their students. However, the differences between private religious and nonsectarian schools need further elaboration. To the extent that civic participation is based on social interdependence and a sense of community responsibility or ownership, high school community service remains problematic as a means to socializing students into the role of civic participation.

This article analyzes national survey data sponsored by the independent SECTOR and collected by the Gallup organization in 1991. The survey shows that values that favor charity and eschew material goals encourage volunteering, and also that youth from higher social classes are more likely to volunteer than those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Participation in religious activities and spiritual values are not related to the likelihood of volunteering. Although these findings help us to understand who volunteers, they also suggest strategies volunteer organizers may use to attract volunteers from underrepresented groups.

The characteristics of teenage volunteers are examined.

This article reports the findings of a study of volunteering to organizations among native-born and immigrant African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Whites in the United States. The authors focus on the questions, do ethnic groups differ in their likelihood of volunteering, and are these differences a function of acculturation? The conceptual framework to explain formal volunteering includes acculturation, personal and social capital, gender, and age. Using logistic regression analysis, the authors find that acculturation explains formal volunteering only partially and differently among the groups and that each native-born and immigrant group has its own unique combination of predictors of volunteering.

AbstractThis article reports the findings of a study of perceived barriers to volunteering to formal organizations by nonvolunteers. We examine the types of barriers, their frequencies, and their relationships with individual‐level sociodemographic characteristics of nonvolunteers. Data from a 2001–2002 national survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics are analyzed using multiple regression techniques. Contrary to general expectations, only three barriers—lack of time, lack of interest, and ill health—are fairly common. Furthermore, as expected, different social class groups identify different types of barriers. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical implications of the findings (for example, how indicators of social and cultural capital affect access to volunteer opportunities) and practical implications concerning recruitment of volunteers.