You are here:
Volunteering
Participating in volunteering activities benefits young people by helping them to develop interests, learn what is involved in the field they are volunteering in and experience what it is like to volunteer. Volunteering should build a range of skills that will be applicable to their everyday and working life.
This information was obtained from the Teenage Lifestyle Survey 2006 (for more information about this survey see reference section 39).
Young people were asked how often (if at all) they did each of the things listed below:
a) Helping others as part of an organised programme, e.g. Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme
b) Helping others (arranged by yourself), e.g. an elderly neighbour
c) Care for a younger or older member of your family e.g. babysitting
d) Take part in work to improve your local area, e.g. litter clearing, repairing play equipment
e) Help organise events, outings or clubs for young people
f) Help in fund raising for national charities or causes you support, e.g. environmental issues
g) Help in fund raising for local causes
h) Take part in a local youth forum or 'council', or serve on a committee for your local club or society
To conform to definitions of volunteering used elsewhere, category c (care for family members) is excluded when calculating the percentages of young people doing at least one of these activities.
In October 2006, 35% of 11 to 15 year olds did voluntary activities at least once a month
Differences in the proportions of pupils who do volunteering activities at least once a month depending on gender and age are shown in table 1 below.
Table 1. Proportion of pupils that reported doing voluntary activities at least once a month by gender and school year
| Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | |
| Male | 25% | 30% | 35% | 40% |
| Female | 34% | 33% | 40% | 41% |
Proportions of pupils doing voluntary activities at least once a month increase with age.
Girls are more likely to volunteer than boys, particularly in Years 7 and 9.
Source: Teenage Lifestyle Survey, Herefordshire Council
For more information see the full report as well as themed reports around volunteering & positive activities, self esteem, health & safety, community safety & drugs and a focus on Year 10 females.
Note - this link takes you to the Herefordshire Council Research Team web pages.