Every year, more than 7.5 million Canadians volunteer their time, skills and energy to improve the lives of others. Increasingly, these volunteers are young. Today, one in five volunteers in Canada are under the age of 25! In 1987 Statistics Canada reported that the volunteer rate among 15 - 24 year-olds was 17% - ten years later that rate had jumped to 33 per cent! Why? Young people are turning to community service as a way to learn work skills, establish employment experience and prove their abilities. As well, volunteer work is a viable choice for summer and part-time activities.

The 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) provides a picture of volunteering in Canada: Almost 1/4 of employed youth volunteers reported that their volunteer experience helped them to find employment. This survey also gives a glimpse into what young volunteers in Canada actually do. One in three Canadians (33%), 15-24 years old volunteered for a charitable or non-profit organization. The most popular area was in Arts, culture and recreation. The average number of hours volunteered by a typical youth aged 15-24 was 125 hours per year for a total combined amount of just over 163 million hours!

One of the most recent trends affecting youth today is the mandatory volunteer programs being introduced into our educational systems. Currently Ontario leads the way with the highest standard for mandatory requirements - that every high school student must now complete 40 hours of community involvement prior to graduation.

Back