First lady Michelle Obama (l.) and California first lady Maria Shriver speak to students before helping them construct playground equipment at Bret Harte Elementary School in San Francisco Monday.
(Robert Galbraith/Reuters)Photos (1 of 1)
First Lady calls for volunteers, young Americans answer
Michelle Obama asked for more community service Monday, but rising volunteerism among Generation Y suggest it has already caught the spirit.
By Michael B. Farrell | Staff writer/ June 22, 2009 edition
San Francisco
First lady Michelle Obama arrived here Monday to launch a nationwide campaign to boost volunteerism, but it appears that a growing number of Americans have already answered the call to community service.
Charity groups and service organizations across the country are seeing an increase in volunteers, and college graduates are signing up in record numbers with groups like Teach for America and AmeriCorps.
While some experts say the recession is helping to feed the ranks of service groups, others say that community organizations are also benefiting from a generational shift in how young Americans view volunteerism.
“We are seeing a spike in volunteerism” that is counter to historical trends, says Sandy Scott, spokesman for the Corporation for National and Community Service, the federal agency that promotes and tracks service.
Typically during a period of high unemployment, volunteerism will drop. But during this recession, he says, many organizations are reporting a surge in inquiries for volunteer positions.
“We think that there is something else going on,” he says.
That something may be a greater emphasis placed on service by this generation of young people, he says. They came of age during 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina – community service surged in the years after those events – and because of that, they are more apt to volunteer, he says.
Applications for the AmeriCorps rose 234 percent this year compared with last. Similarly, Teach for America, the program that sends America’s brightest college graduates to teach in its poorest schools, saw a 42 percent increase in applications this year. Both programs offer
participants some compensation – AmeriCorps gives money toward college and Teach for America connects graduates with paying jobs – but are considered forms of service. [Editor’s note: The original version did not mention that these groups are not wholly voluntary.]
“There is more of a desire to serve the community among people in there 20s and 30s,” agrees Clive Charlwood, executive Director of One Brick, a San Francisco-based clearinghouse for volunteers. “Maybe we are getting a bit beyond the ‘me’ generation and into the ‘us’ generation.”
Still, he adds, the large number of unemployed is a key factor in the renewed interest: “There are so many people with time on their hands.”
With some 14.5 million Americans currently out of work, certainly a lot of people have time to answer the Obama administration’s call to service. Mrs. Obama appears Monday evening at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service in San Francisco to mark the launch of the president’s United We Serve initiative that runs through Sept. 11, which has been declared the National Day of Service and Remembrance.
The initiative is an effort to further boost community service, a major theme during Obama’s presidential campaign, and to connect potential volunteers with charity organizations through the website, www.serve.gov.
The first lady appeared Monday afternoon at a San Francisco elementary school along with California first lady Maria Shriver to talk about the merits of community service. The two heralded a community project to fix the school’s playground as a prime example of what volunteerism can achieve.
“Imagine the changes that happened with the creation of this park. Kids who were never able to play on a swing set get the opportunity to play…. Think about the libraries that will be changed because each of us donates a book or two…, ” said the first lady. “That’s what United We Serve is all about.”
Comments
2. Rich H | 06.23.09
I think our youth should go out get jobs and stop thinking it is OK to work for free. If this is the new attitude of our younger genrations, China, India and the rest of the world will grow as our economy slides into the dark ages. All I can say is you voted for this and don’t say we didn’t warn you.
3. Keshia | 06.23.09
How very selfish to think that serving others is poor and unwise. Speaking on Biblical terms, you must lose your life to keep it. I applaud my generation for giving of themselves to better this nation. God bless us for it.
4. Beth | 06.23.09
Volunteering is a bandaid for the services that the government doesn’t provide. There should be jobs, government money for schools and playgrounds, and enough aid so the people of New Orleans can rebuild their own city not watch well intentioned college students put in a fews days without making a true commitment. Everyone should think about putting in time and making a commitment for a better world, but volunteerism shouldn’t be seen as the solution for under funded schools and racist, classist policies.
5. Natasha | 06.23.09
The fact is that volunteering benefits the community and the volunteer. It can help an unemployed person gain experience, learn a new skill, get “in” with an employer- if the volunteer is savvy they can make themselves indispensable and perhaps the experience will translate into a job. Sure, if you are planting a garden or building a swing set, then the room for growth is limited - but nevertheless you will meet new people and you never know what that will lead to.
Yes, this widespread “service” is a trait of our generation, but it is not all altruism. In an increasingly competitive job market, we need to distinguish ourselves from other candidates and often volunteering serves that purpose too.
6. Sarah | 06.23.09
It isn’t just a matter of going out and finding a job. After all of the interviews, all the time spent updating resumes, and general job hunt work, you still have a lot of time to kill. To state that people without jobs should be out finding jobs is obvious, insulting and patronizing to those who have lost their jobs.
Sitting at home shuffling papers for job prospects can be overwhelming and depressing. By getting out into the community and doing something, people feel productive and helpful. Productive people will get jobs.
I’m happy to see people using their free time to better their communities. This isn’t just about money and jobs, it is about making connections with people. Younger generations have been abandoned by their Me generation parents, and are now making the social and community connections that were denied them.
to “Superpower:” Your post reeks of dead horsemanship…want some rocks to throw at youth from your porch, too? Veiled comparisons of youth in community service to early twentieth century nationalism is just reaching way too hard for a witty point and shows you are not cognizant of the inherent value of helping out your fellow man.
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1. Superpower | 06.22.09
Volunteering is an admirable thing, but shouldn’t those 14.5 million unemployed people be looking for work instead of volunteering? Volunteering doesn’t pay the rent or the phone bill. Think about it; people are now serving the government, instead of government serving the people. Since world history has been “revised”, the 20 and 30 somethings don’t know what government worship leads to. Try supporting yourself first, and then volunteer to a charity. If you can support yourself, then there would be less need for volunteering in the first place…this indoctrination is not unlike a snake eating its own tail.