As wealthier nations age, nonprofits are retooling their operations to accommodate an older volunteer workforce. But they would be remiss if they didn’t also look for help at the other end of the life span, reports Charlene S. Shannon, an expert in recreation and leisure studies at the University of New Brunswick in Canada. She documents how “younger youth”—children between the ages of 8 and 12—are an energetic, useful, yet largely overlooked pool of volunteer labor.
Interviewing younger youth and executive directors at Boys & Girls Clubs in Atlantic Canada, Shannon finds that the younger set’s needs and strengths are different from those of their slightly older counterparts. For instance, the difficulty that these small volunteers most frequently cite is that their assigned tasks are physically challenging. Dealing with rude people—both peers and older people—is also particularly taxing for them.
But as legions of cookie-peddling Girls Scouts can attest, younger youth are particularly adept at fundraising. They are also well suited for assisting adults in tasks that require minimal responsibility, such as stuffing envelopes and tidying up after events. Helping seniors is also a younger-youth bailiwick.
Recruiting 8- to 12-year-olds may be easier than coaxing adolescents and adults to volunteer, the study suggests, because they do not have as many responsibilities competing for their time.
Younger youth are also enthusiastic about volunteering: More than one-third of the children in Shannon’s study said that they volunteer because they think it’s fun. Many children also expressed a genuine desire to help others.
Despite younger youth’s abilities and willingness to help, nonprofits often pass over them when soliciting volunteers. Nonprofit researchers likewise ignore this segment of the volunteer workforce. Shannon suggests that these adults are underestimating this age group’s assets.
“Rather than making assumptions about what younger youth can or cannot do,” she writes, “organizations seeking volunteers may want to connect with leaders of youth organizations to learn what assets the youth in those organizations possess.” In so doing, these nonprofits should communicate how their service opportunities will develop the skills of child volunteers. Although younger youth are not yet concerned about preparing themselves for the job market, the leaders of youth organizations are already considering the future prospects of their small charges.
Shannon also notes that enlisting younger youth as volunteers is investing in the future. Numerous studies show that adults who began volunteering in their youth are twice as likely to volunteer as adults who did not. Child volunteers are also more likely to grow up to be voters and community leaders.
Charlene S. Shannon, “An Untapped Resource: Understanding Volunteers Aged 8 to 12,” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38, 2009.
Read more stories by Alana Conner.