Indicator: 70 - Youth in Community Service

Why This Is Important

Community service projects enable young people to engage in real-life problem-solving in their schools and communities. Volunteering and working in the community is one way to help young people develop stronger bonds to their community, which can help to prevent them from engaging in risky behaviors. Creating opportunities for community service is one way communities can promote collaborative partnerships.

Where We Stand

Just under half of interviewed youth (48% in 2000, and 42% in 2001) reported that they spent time doing community service-related activities during an average week. Females and high school seniors were more likely to be engaged in such work in both years. Just under half (46%) of the students doing community service in 2000 reported that this was organized through their school; this fraction dropped to 38% in the 2001 survey.

The survey also asked the youth how many hours they participated in community service in an average week. Over 70% of the entire sample and most subgroups in both years volunteered for 1-4 hours a week; as the number of volunteer hours rose, the number of students contributing that much community service dropped. The average number of hours that youth reported in community service for all respondents was 3.5 hours per week in 2000, and 3.9 hours per week in 2001.

Data Sources and Context

This Maine Marks indicator was shaped by the work of the Search Institute and their research into developmental assets of young people. The developmental assets framework is popular with many working in the field of youth development. The data source for this indicator is a statewide telephone survey of Maine youth aged 13 to 19 done by Critical Insights, a strategic marketing research firm in Portland, Maine. A total of 403 telephone interviews with Maine youth were done in November 2000; 402 more were interviewed in November 2001. The youth were asked "During any average week, do you spend time doing community service-related activities (such as helping out at a hospital, daycare center, food shelf, youth program, community service agency, or doing other things)?" If they answered "yes", they were also asked the following questions:

• During any average week, approximately how many hours do you typically spend doing community service-helping people in the community without getting paid?"
  
• "Was this community service program organized through your school as a service learning opportunity?"

Only the data in the "all" column of the charts is statistically representative of youth statewide; the gender and grade level breakdowns are only meant to be roughly descriptive of all young people in Maine.