Never mind the lazy days of summer, it’s time to gear up for the rush of youth volunteers between the ages of 15 and 24 and to tap into the amazing energy, skills, and potential that youth volunteers provide to communities and organizations.

But, before you consider the who, what, and how of volunteer positions, why not take a few moments to refresh your understanding of  ‘why’ young people volunteer. 53% of youth in this age demographic are active volunteers, which means that not only are the majority not first time volunteers, they often have other volunteering commitments in addition to family, friends, and school activities. Like the rest of us, youth volunteers are balancing competing demands so when they choose a new volunteer position they are usually looking to have their specific needs met.

Sometimes the needs are about building school credits, being with friends, and trying something new, but national studies and our own experience at Volunteer Victoria suggests that youth volunteers area also:

• passionate about giving back and making a difference for causes that they connect to. Often the connection grows beyond the gift of time to include advocacy and philanthropy
• very clear about their need to learn and grow in a volunteer position and to build skills that will help them reach their employment and/or academic goals
• keen to use their skills and knowledge in meaningful ways and to be involved in tasks that use their creative and critical thinking skills
• looking for mentors and opportunities to connect
• willing and able to instantly share information with their social networks (but be aware that sharing includes both good and bad volunteering experiences) 
• open to working on short-term projects and in person, online, or virtually

With the youth unemployment rate last August at more than 11.7% and no indication that every youth looking for a job will find a job this year, we know that youth will once again turn to volunteering as a tool to build pre-employment skills and to make meaningful connections.  

Creating youth friendly volunteers positions is a win-win for volunteers and agencies, so if you need help creating positions or finding youth volunteers please contact the Youth Volunteer Connections Program at julia-anne@volunteervictoria.bc.ca or call 250.386.2269.