service

Are you getting involved as a volunteer offline? According to a new study by the Corporation for National and Community Service, if you are a member of the Millennial generation it is a lot more likely you just answered, "Yes!" Working with the community service organization Democrats Work I already knew this, but now we have more data to back it up.

The study looked at regional differences in volunteerism: Minneapolis-St. Paul came out on top, Miami came in last among the largest cities; Utah was tops among the states. But it also opened a window into how age differences change volunteer choices and how those choices have changed between the generations.

After a large drop off in volunteering among the members of Generation X, the Millennials are embracing public service in numbers not seen since the Boomers.

Baby Boomers will double the number of older American volunteers in the coming decades and young people are volunteering at higher rates than the last generation. "We have an unprecedented opportunity to seize this moment and usher in a new era of service in America," said David Eisner, CEO of the Corporation.  "By giving us a look under the hood of U.S. volunteering, this research shows what we need to do to recruit and retain tomorrow’s volunteers."

"Recruit and retain"

Democrats rebuilding New Orleans after Katrina

Retention is increasingly a problem. More people are volunteering for the first time, but organizations are not doing a good job of keeping them in place. Unlike in the past when church-based organizations gave a more permanent base for volunteering, the new volunteerism is finding expression in more temporary opportunities, including "done in a day" projects. Among youth volunteers in particular, there is a growing segment that engages in "voluntourism" by heading many miles from their homes to perform service. They are more able than their rooted elders to respond to disasters like Hurricane Katrina, and while this underscores a deep civic engagement, it may also contribute to a more epsiodic, less consistent, participation.

In trying to explain Florida's low volunteer rate to the Associated Press, some Miami residents offered this:

Ani Olmeda Gonzalez at Mercy Hospital said the tough economy was forcing some would-be volunteers to choose paid work instead. Charlotte Donn at YMCA of Greater Miami noted the city is home to many transients. And Cathy Agosti of VITAS Innovative Hospice Care noted what many others repeated.

"Busy lives," she said. "Busy lives."

Florida is by no means unique in those ways, so are those explanations even true anywhere? Not geographically, at least. The choice between a busy life of paid work and giving time to the community is not a trade-off most people are making. The study showed that on average people who volunteered in the last year also spent as much time at their jobs as the people that didn't. Where did they find the time? The answer appears to be "television."

People who had volunteered in the last year watched an average of 15 hours of television a week. People who had never volunteered watched an average of 23 hours a week. Stretch that over a year and you have more than 436 extra hours to work with. Volunteers seem to need the artificial interaction of television far less. They also reported spending much more time engaging in social activities and ate fewer meals alone. Some of these numbers are being moved by the Gen-X families. When kids are in the picture, the parents volunteering hours move sharply upwards as they give their time to school and childcare related causes. At every age, however, having a job, a family, or busy social life actually meant more hours being donated. Working moms and college towns led the pack every time.

Although on average, there was not a trade-off between a paycheck and service, age did seem to be a factor. Young people were more likely than older people to cut back on work hours in order to give.

Democratic  political volunteers, rallying to feed the homeless

As Generation X ages, it seems unlikely that they will suddenly start contributing at the levels that the Baby Boomers have. There may well be a time in the next few decades when the Millennials either carry the full load or will have to create institutions that pass on the value of volunteeerism to future generations. Either way, there is a burden, but also a great opportunity. If the Millennials continue to embrace volunteerism that includes political activism, they can generate a huge shift in the policies that concern them . . . and there is reason to believe that this shift will be progressive and partisan. Indeed, the nature of "voluntourism" is to give of one's time to remediate failures of national policy. Eco-volunteers and community volunteers are engaged with failed policies at their most visible and local level. And while there is a strong feeling among Millennials that government can be an effective tool for good, there is also a sense that we don't have to wait around for problems to be solved.

As we continue to see, the failure of the Bush Administration to issue a call to service, rather than a call to shopping, was rejected by a generation of people who are not waiting for the invitation to get involved.

Bumped. Bergeris putting out some good stuff. --Mike

Crossposted at Politics of the Common Good.

In his inaugural address, President John F. Kennedy called on Americans to serve. Sadly, those words -- "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country" -- have become cliche today. We hear them, but most of us drive right by that message of sacrifice without really pondering what it means.

Those words have faded from our collective conscience. The presidency of George W. Bush has reduced "service" to fighting bravely in a war that should never have been fought in the first place. Commentators and other bloggers have noted many a time that Americans were not asked to sacrifice once after the events of 9/11. Immediately after the attacks on our country, the Bush administration focused on Iraq rather than observing and noticing the spirit of goodwill among American citizens as well as citizens of other nations. After invading Iraq in 2003, the phrase "serving our country" was usually used with reference to joining the Armed Forces.

Even after the war had begun, the Bush administration's policies and behavior indicated a philosophy antithetical to the Kennedy call for service. With the nation mired in a mess in Iraq, President Bush never once veered from a policy of cutting taxes for the wealthiest Americans, forcing the burden on those Americans barely able to get their proverbial feet under them. With the price of oil skyrocketing, President Bush chose to visit Saudi Arabia to request that oil prices be lowered rather than approach Americans and ask them to sacrifice for the American economy. This is the same man, by the way, who declared that America was addicted to oil. When a drug addict admits to an addiction and then begs his or her supplier for more, that's not responsible sacrifice -- in fact, it's not sacrifice at all.

Now, in 2008, we have two choices: a man who worked for low-income families on the south side of Chicago versus a man who honorably served the country in another war it should not have fought. Senator Obama has released a detailed plan for national service. Obama will reward college students who give 100 hours of service to their communities with a $4,000 annual tax credit for school. Obama will add 65,000 members to the military. He will also significantly expand AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps.

Turning to Senator McCain, we're left with very little.

John McCain, who's predicated his presidential run in no small part on his distinguished military record, frequently exhorts Americans — and especially young Americans — to serve their country. Despite that appeal, he has yet to offer any proposals to expand or transform national service outside of the military.

...

...The McCain campaign will not commit to releasing a plan for expanding service opportunities. A senior policy adviser said only that they are "studying options for national service." When asked why he does not have a service proposal, Pounder would only say that McCain is proud of his past support for service programs and has exhorted audiences to serve in this campaign.

While refusing to ask for a comprehensive sacrifice of the American people is regrettable when keeping Kennedy's call to service and sacrifice in mind, it's also not smart politics. The Millennial Generation will offer roughly 50 million voters in the 2008 election. These Americans have volunteered at record rates over the past few years. In fact, 60% of 15-25 year olds have volunteered or continued to volunteer on a regular basis (CIRCLE, via Future Majority). This generation's general mindset is to help, big. It's a generation of builders that are civic-minded and want to work together to build a better society, and thus far, community service has been this generation's most productive method of doing so. However, many political junkies have heard by now that Millennials are not only serving, but voting too. In the last three elections, Americans aged 18-29 have increased their voting rate and are on the verge of becoming a powerful voice in the American political dialogue. McCain may not have the internet in common with Millennials, but he'd be best-served politically to develop a civic service bond with Millennials.

The Millennial brand of service seems identical to Kennedy's: service and policy to build, with politics and elections to protect. Kennedy not only called on Americans to sacrifice; he also asked citizens -- national and global -- to hold accountable those Americans in power.

Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love...

Many Americans immediately link the "Ask not what your country can do" quotation with Kennedy; but they don't realize that in the same speech he offered a compact of sorts. If the American citizen will do all that he or she can do for his or her country, those of us in power will promise to maintain the same work ethic, the same ethical standards, and the same dedication to bettering the national community as the citizenry. That promise, linked with Kennedy's allusion toward sacrificing for the unknown ("a good conscience our only sure reward") is not only the national service we need, but the closest thing to patriotism I can think of.

John Edwards's statement early on in the primaries calling us to be "patriotic about something other than war" is relevant, but it's only a start. We need to build off that statement by working together in service to "the land we love." Many volumes have researched and described the connections between service and leadership; it's a pretty natural linkage. Any contender for the highest office in the United States should have a plan on restoring the patriotic duty of sacrifice and service -- not just militarily, but all throughout our society.