• Social service and other nonprofit providers or associations that may engage young people (and adults) as volunteers;
• Community-based youth development organizations and after-school programs that include service or service-learning as part of their programming; and
• Faith-based organizations that provide services and offer service experiences as part of their programming. (Because of the unique goals and context of faith-based organizations, the research from that sector is not included in this overview.)

• Young people gain access to the range of supports and opportunities (or developmental assets) they need to grow up healthy, caring, and responsible. One study of youth civic activism found that these settings had particular strength in cultivating youth and community involvement (Lewis-Charp et al., 2003).
• Increased sense of self-efficacy as young people learn that they can impact real social challenges, problems, and needs.
• Higher academic achievement and interest in furthering their education.
• Enhanced problem-solving skills, ability to work in teams, and planning abilities.
• Enhanced civic engagement attitudes, skills and behaviors. Many leaders in public service today speak about how they were nurtured, inspired, and shaped in early experiences in community service or volunteering.

• Young people are more likely to stay engaged when they feel their participation is meaningful and they can make useful contributions through service and social action.
• Service-learning gives an intentional strategy for addressing goals for learning and personal development through civic engagement and community service.
• Service-learning can cultivate connections between the organization, schools, and other community groups.
• Service-learning can increase program staff and volunteers’ level of engagement, leadership capacity, and satisfaction with their work.

• Physical and psychological safety;
• Appropriate structure;
• Supportive relationships;
• Opportunities to belong;
• Positive social norms;
• Support for efficacy and mentoring;
• Opportunities for skill building; and
• Integration of family, school, and community efforts.

• The opportunity to expand their mission and reach without substantially increasing costs by engaging a cadre of competent, motivated young people who share their time and talents in support of the organization’s mission.
• New energy, ideas, and enthusiasm as well as specialized skills that young people can bring to the organization (such as community skills). Inca Mohamed writes , “Every young person, like every adult, has unique abilities and experience that can expand the capacities and outcomes of [social change] efforts” (Mohamed, 2001, p. 15).
• Increased public support and visibility in the community as young people become ambassadors for the agency in their schools, homes, and other networks.
• New partnerships and resources that emerge when agencies for service-learning partnerships with schools, youth development organizations, faith-based organizations or others that provide service-learning as part of their programming.
• By working with youth and getting them committed to its mission, an organization cultivates a new generation of volunteers for either their own organization or their broader cause.

• It meets real needs and priorities for individuals and communities, as young people bring new energy, capacity, and creative ideas.
• Community residents have opportunities to build positive relationships with young people.
• Communities see youth in a different way—as resources, not problems.
• A new generation of caring and experienced citizens, activists, and volunteers is cultivated (Mohamed & Wheeler, 2001).

• Young people have active and meaningful leadership roles;
• The program is guided by clear and intentional learning and development goals;
• Active, intentional, and structured reflection is integral to the program;
• Young people are involved across time (at least 20 hours across several months); and
• The service projects meet real community needs and priorities.

Schools are not the only institutions that educate our young people, and community-based organizations can be far more than the ‘stage’ that schools use to deliver the service-learning programs that they develop. Kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade schooling is only one format for ‘education’ where young people gain the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and aspirations they will need to become successful adults [p. 3].