,Taylor Babcock
11/16/13
HSP 402
Annotated Bibliography for Culminating Dialogue
Eckstein, S. (2001) Community as gift-giving: Collectivistic roots of volunteerism.
American Sociological Review 66(6), 829-851
This article seeks to understand why the perceived middle aged middle classes people are
the main contributors to volunteerism. Approximately half of all Americans claim to
volunteer time and money to a cause or organization. This article focuses mainly on how
group volunteerism generates more time and money than traditional individual
volunteerism. The archetypal American volunteer is a white woman who lives in a small
town, middle aged, educated, employed and religiously involved. There community level
research found that giving is greatest in small, affluent towns with few elderly and
minorities.
Ho, Y. You, J., & Fung, H. (2012). The moderating role of age in the relationship
between volunteering motives and well-being. European Journal of Aging 9(4),
319-327.
The article examines a group volunteers' motivation in volunteering related to
physical and psychological wellbeing. Social motives and physical well-being were
positively related among older volunteers but were negative among younger and middle
aged volunteers. Protective motives and psychological wellbeing were more related in
younger volunteer populations
McDougle, L. (2011). Generation green: Understanding the motivations and mechanisms
Influencing young adults' environmental volunteering. International Journal of
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing 16(4), 325-341.
This article studies college students at a Canadian University and assesses why young
adults are volunteering and what motivates their commitment. This article also agrees
that social aspects of volunteering are the strongest predictor of volunteering. The
volunteers in the study were most likely to be liberal non-white females. Volunteers who
exhibited pro-active environmental behavior were more likely to have volunteered for an
environmental organization/non profit. The students were volunteering mainly to gain
social connections and new skills in areas of interest. Young adults often lack structural
components to life being time, money and transportation.
Omoto, A. Snyder, M., & Martino, S. (2000). Volunteerism and the life course:
investigating age related agendas for action. Basic and Applied Social Psychology
22(3), 181-197.
This article examines a study that investigated the purposes, expectations and outcomes
144 volunteers ages 19-76. The hypothesis is that younger volunteers are motivated by
interpersonal relationships while older volunteers are motivated by service or community
obligations/concerns. The life course analysis suggests people have different roles and
activities that they adopt and abandon over time. Volunteerism offers people of all ages
to examine, contribute and work towards progress on a social cause. Volunteering is
associated with better health, physically and psychologically. Younger adults are
considered the loneliest members of society and are more likely to volunteer to build
friendships. Older adults are more likely to volunteer to feel useful and competent. Also
older adults are more concerned about the wellbeing of the next generation.
Reingold, D., Nesbit, R. (2006) Volunteer Growth in America; A review of trends since
1974. Corporation for National and Community Service Retrieved from
http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/06_1203_volunteer_growth.pdf
This article breaks down age group volunteering and reports the trends since 1974.
Teenagers are mostly involved in episodic volunteering which is 99 hours or less and
year. Teenage volunteers are also more likely to volunteer with educational or youth
based organizations. Religious organizations are the second most likely place teenagers
volunteer with. Baby boomers are aged 45-65 in 2006 and are the main reason for the
growth in volunteering. Baby boomers are interested in volunteering with educational,
problem youth and religious organizations. Baby Boomers are not interested in civic or
political volunteering. Aging adults (65+) volunteering rates have been on the upward. In
2006 aging adults are the most likely group to volunteer over one hundred hours a week.
Aging adults are more likely to volunteer with a religious organization but not so much
with health based organizations.
Seaman, P. (2012) Time of my life now: Early boomer women's anticipation of
Volunteering in retirement. The Gerontologist 52(2), 245-254
This article explored whether or not Boomer women who work for pay now will be
committed to volunteering later. Society believes boomers will have a long extended
retirement and they will want to fill their free time positively. Boomers are a hard
working population so this experiment was unsure whether boomers would choose to
work paid or unpaid (volunteering) during this period. These women suggested that if
they were to volunteer it would have to be meaningful and have formal training. Their
choice to volunteer will be direct service; for personal, not charitable reasons. They are
not interested in serving on a board or committees. These women tend to weigh the cost
(time commitment, energy level, feeling of purpose, etc) vs. the benefits (spiritually
uplifting, social gains, bettering the community etc.). We must develop volunteer
recruitment strategies to fit this population.
Tang, F. (2006). What resources are needed for Volunteerism? A Life Course
Perspective. Journal of Applied Gerontology 25(5), 375-390.
The article explores what motivates people to volunteer at different ages. They
hypothesize that younger adults volunteer for self improvement and social relationships.
Middle aged people volunteer as an extension of employment or family (schools,
community programs, etc.). Older adult volunteer to provide services like mentoring a
coaching; this is most common when older adults are members of a religious
organization. Resources like education, income, social connections and health make
volunteering possible. Adults over 65 years of age are least likely to volunteer while
adults between the ages 35-44 are most likely to volunteer. However older adults who are
volunteering are more committed to their agencies. Volunteering is connected to stability,
education, church attendance and high numbers of friends
United States Department of Labor. (2013). Volunteering in the United States, 2012.
Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/volun.nr0.htm
This is a series of statistics describing the trends in who is volunteering in the United
States of America from 2008-2012. The data sets include sex, education, race, age and
employment status. I looked particularly the age statistics. Overall the number of people
16 and over has increased since 2008. People aged 35-44 (31.6%) were most likely to
volunteer and those 20-24 (18.9%). are less likely to volunteer. Volunteers are defined in
this article as persons who did unpaid work for an organization.