Voices of Volunteers 18-29

By Judy Schoenberg, Ed.M., Debra Pryor, M.B.A., M.S.A., and Diane Hart. (New York, N.Y.: Girl Scouts of the USA, 2003). 114 pp. (Executive Summary, 24 pp.)

What motivates women 18-29 to volunteer? What stops them? What keeps them? To understand why and how women 18-29 volunteer, the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), in conjunction with Partners in Brainstorms, Inc., conducted Voices of Volunteers 18-29, a national (online and focus group) study of over 1,100 female volunteers ages 18-29.

Voices reveals volunteers' ideas about what makes for a positive volunteering experience as well as what challenges exist. The report reflects eight main findings or "voices" that offer a roadmap for action.

The findings in this study demonstrate the need for youth-serving organizations to look closely at their volunteer/youth worker recruitment, training, support, administration, and recognition programs to encourage engagement of this extremely diverse, independent, dedicated, and entrepreneurial pool of volunteers.

Download the Voices of Volunteers 18-29 executive summary (PDF, 299KB). For more information about the research, or to order a hard copy of the executive summary or full report of the study, email the Girl Scout Research Institute or call (800) GSUSA 4 U.