What stops people from volunteering?
Longer commuting times
People who have longer commutes, whether to their job or to the volunteering site, are significantly less likely to volunteer than those with shorter commuting times
Low community attachment
Communities with high population density, low homeownership rates, and more multi-unit housing (typically urban areas/cities) feel less attached to their communities, and are therefore less willing to invest in it. These communities typically have more transient populations who tend to maintain a sense of anonymity in the communities they reside in.
Our lives are hectic & there's not enough time!
Volunteer rates for many populations in the United States have increased significantly, but that increase is mainly seen in engagement through episodic volunteering. The Corporation for National and Community Service makes the argument that there is an increased desire to be civically engaged, but that this may be challenged by the need to fulfill so many other responsibilities in everyday life, thus decreasing the potential for regular volunteering.
Lower income = higher opportunity costs
Barriers to volunteerism for low-income communities include the basic costs of transportation, childcare, and the opportunity costs of volunteering for free when working for a paid job is necessary for taking care of basic needs. Children and teens in low-income communities are also less likely to encounter service-learning through school.
Who can help?
If participation in volunteer activity during childhood is a positive indicator of volunteerism later in life, then it is important for elementary schools to engrain the value of volunteerism and community engagement in children earlier in their development. Not all parents have the ability to go out and volunteer or engage their children in volunteering, but if children are all taught the same service-oriented curricula on a larger level, it may become a norm in the community’s daily life. Here's how you can do it!
Educators
Following the example set by the American Bar Association, making volunteerism a norm or requirement in the workplace will make time constraints and other obligations a non-issue for those who do not have much time outside of work. It will also increase the sense of fulfillment and well-being of the workforce, contribute to feelings of connectedness throughout the community, and provide nonprofits with pro-bono professional services that will help advance their missions. Here's how you can do it!
Family socialization plays a huge role in determining a child's likelihood of volunteering in the future. Children who have parents or family members who volunteer are much more likely to volunteer themselves, and children who are engaged in volunteerism during their childhoods are significantly more likely to volunteer, and to continue volunteering through adulthood. Here's how you can do it!
Businesses
Families
Mentors promote service through mentoring practices through a cycle of mutual empowerment, where a college student has a professional mentor (an adult, typically in the professional world), and the college student mentors youth populations.
Mentoring programs may be especially useful in low-income communities where children in schools typically do not have exposure or access to volunteerism. Mentoring programs could increase visibility and opportunities for service, and many programs are curriculum-based and can incorporate service learning.
Mentors
Nonprofits can help engage people in volunteering and play a big role in retaining volunteers by increasing the options for volunteer activities and the frequency of volunteer opportunities, following up with all volunteers (including ones who volunteered once or did a small job), expressing appreciation for the volunteer personally, and inviting them to volunteer with them again and again! Nonprofits can also develop and maintain a strong volunteer network by developing partnerships with corporations and businesses and using skills-based employee volunteers!
Nonprofits
No act of volunteerism is ever too small! in the words of Helen Keller, "I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something I can do." Any small amount you are able to do is worth doing, and it's been my experience that doing one small thing motivates you to seek something bigger! When one person volunteers, it does not go unnoticed; your friends, family, and peers will notice and it may set off a chain reaction of volunteerism! Do not underestimate the power of YOU!