Teens and Volunteering: The Fast Facts

(StatePoint) Volunteering contributes to a strong community, but the benefits can extend to the volunteer, too.

A recent study, conducted by Prudential Financial’s Spirit of Community Awards, surveyed teenagers nationwide about their attitudes toward volunteering. While teenagers cite “helping others” as a top reason for wanting to volunteer, nine in 10 volunteers say that doing so makes them feel good about themselves.

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Over half of teens who volunteer say the experience builds self-esteem and confidence, and nearly three out of five surveyed say volunteering makes them feel happier and less stressed.

Those who serve their communities also reported feeling more of a sense of independence, leadership, dependability, confidence and optimism than their non-volunteering counterparts.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program for youth volunteers conducted the survey in support of its mission to promote volunteerism amongst middle and high school students. Compared to 20 years ago, when Prudential first surveyed teenagers about their attitudes toward volunteering, the number of teens who said volunteering is important increased from 62 percent to 76 percent.

More information about the study and teen volunteering can be found at <a href="http://spirit.prudential.com/" rel="nofollow">spirit.prudential.com</a>.

Parents and teachers can encourage teens to help their communities and themselves through volunteerism.

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Teens and Volunteering: The Fast Facts