Youth Service Facts and Statistics
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Youth Service Facts and Statistics In combination with real stories of transformation, providing evidence to support the effectiveness of the YVC model is an important component of creating successful fundraising appeals. Below is an extensive list of facts and statistics you can use to create more comprehensive and credible grant proposals. General YVC Facts • Youth Volunteer Corps (YVC) was founded in Kansas City by David Battey in 1987 to address the need for high-quality community-based service opportunities for youth of all backgrounds. • Since 1987, YVC has grown to more than 30 Affiliate programs across the U.S. and Canada engaging more than 280,000 Youth Volunteers in more than four million hours of service. • After a recent Summer of Service program: o 99% of YVC youth said they know they can make a difference in their community. o 95% reported volunteering gave them a stronger work ethic. o 92% learned to adapt to different situations. o 94% indicated they learned how to work as part of a team. o 96% want to volunteer again. • In the 2013-2014 program year, 6,338 YVC youth participated in 3,105 service-learning projects at 592 different community agencies, serving 127,662 hours. More than 1,457 of those youth served have earned at least 30 hours with YVC. • A 2009 independent evaluation of the entire YVC network tested its effectiveness at meeting YVC’s Four Fundamental Goals. The results were overwhelmingly positive. The vast majority of Youth Volunteers reported that their projects were challenging, rewarding, educational, diverse, and inspired them to volunteer again. Ninety-four percent of the community agencies served stated that hosting YVC projects increased outputs and advanced their mission. General Youth Service Facts • A 2005 Corporation for National and Community Service Survey found that 55% of teenagers participate in volunteer activities. • According to an Independent Sector/Gallup study, youth service is worth $34.3 billion to the U.S. economy. The value of service carried out on the annual Global Youth Service Day event alone exceeds $171 million, according to the event’s organizer Youth Service America. • The Corporation for National and Community Service found a 27 percent higher likelihood for volunteers finding work than non-volunteers, regardless of age. • A 2008 survey of admissions officers from the top 50 colleges and universities by the organization DoSomething.org found that admissions officers consistently put a higher value on continuous volunteering over several years at a local place than a short-term stint overseas. • Out-of-school time programs for youth with opportunities for leadership, understanding, and friendship can help them develop social skills, leadership skills, greater knowledge of themselves, and prepare them for a variety of roles they assume as they reach college-age and the workforce (Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD, 2010). Youth Service Facts and Statistics pg. 1 © 2015 Youth Volunteer Corps • Research suggest that youth who are both out of school and out of work are far less likely to reach sustenance levels of income if they do not attain access to work experience and/or further education (CNCS, 2011). • The need for youth volunteer opportunities that develop job skills is significant. In 2011, U.S. youth employment rates dropped to lows not seen in more than 50 years, ranging from 18 percent to 46 percent for teens. Part of the challenge for youth seeking employment is the gap between their skills and the qualifications needed for available positions. In addition to other work experiences, community service helps build job-readiness skills, knowledge and confidence. These encompass not just workplace and financial skills, but also the broader “soft skills” of taking responsibility and initiative, working in teams, focusing on problem-solving and learning how to contribute (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2012). • A study by the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development found numerous positive effects youth have on adults and organizations by being included in decision-making roles, which is a key element of YVC program management. • A Search Institute study found that benefits for youth who serve include increased self-esteem, a sense of personal control, enhanced development of identity and life skills including leadership, public speaking, dependability, job responsibility, and higher academic achievement. • The YVC model of frequent, team-based, supervised, educational, diverse service projects directly fosters more than half of the Search Institute’s 40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents and indirectly promotes several others. • According to the University of Washington’s Social Development Research Group, youth development programs that involve methods to strengthen social and moral competencies, build self-efficacy, increase bonding with adults, peers and younger children and expand opportunities and recognition for youth can result in positive youth behavior outcomes and the prevention of youth problem behaviors. • A UCLA/Higher Education Research Institute study found that youth who volunteer are more likely to do well in school, graduate, vote, and be philanthropic adults. • A 2002 report by the Independent Sector shows that adults who volunteered as youth tend to give more money to charity than others in the same income level. • According to an Independent Sector study, individuals who volunteered in their youth are twice as likely to serve as adults than those who did not. More than six out of ten adult volunteers started volunteering by age 14. • Civic engagement promotes higher academic achievement and develops many skills, including critical thinking, organizing, and planning. It also helps youth form an identity, an essential role of adolescence (Marilyn Price-Mitchell, PhD, 2010). • According to the Search Institute, youth who volunteer just one hour a week are 50% less likely to abuse drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or engage in destructive behavior. • An Independent Sector/Gallup Poll found that the top benefits reported by youth who serve include that they: o Learned to respect others o Learned to be helpful and kind o Learned how to get along with and relate to others Youth Service Facts and Statistics pg. 2 © 2015 Youth Volunteer Corps o Gained satisfaction from helping others o Learned to understand people who were different from themselves o Learned how to relate to younger children o Became better people o Learned new skills o Developed leadership skills o Became more patient with others • A 2013 study by United Heath Group showed that among volunteers of all ages: o 76% say that volunteering has made them feel healthier o 94% say that volunteering improves their mood o 78% say that volunteering lowers their stress levels General Service-Learning Facts • Multiple RMC Research Corporation studies found that students who participate in high-quality service-learning experience an array of positive impacts, including acceptance of diversity, connection to cultural heritage, development of ethics, strengthening of protective factors related to resilience, as well as higher academic achievement, civic engagement, acquisition of leadership skills, and personal/social development. • Studies have shown strong statistically significant differences on formulation of career plans and emphasis on finding a career that was personally satisfying and/or beneficial to others between service-learning participants and nonparticipants (Furco et al., 2002). • Service-learning strengthens youth, who are critical assets in their families and communities, strengthens community vitality by connecting institutions, schools, and families in ways that foster positive youth development, and helps prepare youth to become successful adults and employees (Family Strengthening Policy Center, 2007). • Participants in high-quality service-learning programs are significantly more likely to say they intend to vote, enjoy school, acquired more civic knowledge related to government and community, gained job skills and work experience, learned about careers and acquired reading, writing, and computer skills (RMC Research Corporation, 2007). • Service-learning program duration is positively related to participants’ commitment to learning as well as a reduction in the achievement gap between participants of different socioeconomic status (Journal of Experiential Education, 2006). • According to the National Dropout Prevention Center, service-learning provides developmental opportunities that promote personal, social, and intellectual growth as well as civic responsibility and career exploration. • Service-learning participants have a stronger set of job and career-related skills and aspirations, including knowledge of how to plan activities, desire to pursue postsecondary education, and job interview skills, than non-participants (Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community, 2006). • A 2008 report by Civic Enterprises and the National Conference on Citizenship found that: o 82% of students who participate in service-learning reported more positive feelings about high school. o 75% agreed that service-learning classes are more interesting than other classes. Youth Service Facts and Statistics pg. 3 © 2015 Youth Volunteer Corps o 65% believe connecting classroom learning with opportunities to serve would increase their motivation. • Recent RMC Research Corporation studies show great promise for service-learning as an avenue