
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 19, 1994                   TAG: 9405190147
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                 LENGTH: Medium

AMERICAN TEENS DO GOOD, TOO

Oh, yes, they listen to impossible music, drink beer by the keg, can't add without a calculator, are addicted to television, use up all the hot water and wear clothes that show their underwear.

But according to a Washington research outfit, not all kids in America are illiterate, ill-clad, couchbound and promiscuous. Some are - or also are - good citizens.

In a report Wednesday, Independent Sector says 61 percent (three out of five, if you don't have your calculator) of all Americans age 12 to 17 volunteer to do good work. Independent Sector is a coalition of more than 800 corporations, foundations and volunteer groups interested in charity and voluntary action.

It says the average teen volunteer is at it for 3.2 hours a week. It says one in four puts in more than five hours a week, doing everything from helping a neighbor paint the house to singing in the church choir.

If you had to pay the $4.35-an-hour minimum wage for all the work done by teen volunteers, it would cost $7 billion and require the full-time service of 1 million people, Independent Sector says.

It cites as the source of these conclusions two national in-home interview surveys by The Gallup Organization of 1,404 teen-agers and a national conference attended by 70 teen volunteers from 28 states. The poll was conducted in 1992. Teen volunteering may be on the upswing. In 1991, a similar survey found 57 percent of teens volunteered.

Baby-sitting is what teen volunteers do most. Other activities, in order of participation: acting as a youth leader or aide; cleanup work; working in a theater or musical or arts organization; assisting the elderly, handicapped or homebound; helping the paid staff of charitable organizations; singing in the choir; teaching Sunday school or Bible lessons.

Most youngsters say they volunteered through a church or synagogue, but schools are increasingly encouraging volunteer service or pointing students toward it. Maryland requires community service for a high school diploma.

Independent Sector says few teens volunteer on their own initiative. But, when asked by a parent, teacher or friend already involved, nine in 10 agree to volunteer.

Virginia Hodgkinson, vice president for research at Independent Sector, says the popular image of teen-agers as no-goodniks is distorted. ``They really do want to be involved in their society,'' she says.

by CNB