ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, December 11, 1996 TAG: 9612110030
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
Teen-agers are less inclined than they were five years ago to give to charity, according to a national survey.
It found that 41 percent of young people between 12 and 17 said they gave to charity last year. In 1991, nearly 50 percent gave.
Those who gave in 1995 contributed an average of $82. In 1991, givers contributed an average of $56.
The survey also found that 59 percent of those asked said they volunteered in 1995, in ways ranging from baby-sitting for a neighbor for free to working for a church group. The percentage who said they volunteered in 1991, when a similar survey was conducted, was nearly 61 percent.
The survey was conducted by the Gallup Organization last summer on behalf of Independent Sector, a coalition representing 800 volunteer groups, foundations and corporate giving programs. The results were made public Tuesday.
A total of 1,007 teen-agers 12 to 17 were questioned in their homes. The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
The volunteering may have not all been done out of free will: 16 percent of the teen-agers said their schools require community service for graduation and 26 percent said their schools offered a course requiring community service.
Other findings:
* In 1995, volunteers gave 3.5 hours of their time a week, on average; in 1991, it was 3.2 hours.
* Between 1991 and 1995, there was a decline in volunteering reported by teens 14 to 16 years old, but an increase by those age 17.
* A third of the teen volunteers said they started volunteering before they were 12.
The survey suggested the best way to evoke volunteerism is to ask for it. Of the 51 percent of teen-agers who were asked to volunteer, 93 percent did. Of the 49 percent not asked, only 24 percent volunteered.
- Associated Press
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