Building Active Citizens: The Role of Social Institutions in Teen Volunteering

The following report will highlight the state of youth volunteering and consider the relationship between
youth volunteer behavior and three primary environments where youth form their social networks:
family, religious organizations, and school. These social institutions play an essential role in connecting
youth to volunteer opportunities and encouraging them to become engaged in service. Fostering
environments that encourage volunteer activities are critical to creating a commitment to service and
community involvement that will remain with them for their lifetime. Through this analysis, the authors look to
build on existing research that has demonstrated that connections to the community and volunteering
form a positive feedback loop, whereby opportunities provided to youth to engage with others leads
to a greater sense of reciprocity and trust that in turn leads youth to develop a personal ethic of
community engagement. (author)