Teenagers 'contribute £300m to economy' through voluntary work

A new report out from the Evangelical Alliance, reported here on the Beeb, is a useful corrective to the stereotypes many folk have of teenagers. It reports that nearly half do voluntary work at least once a month, and the vast majority give regularly to charity.

The report has an intro from Prince Charles, and is based on (yet another!!) survey, this time of 700 14-18's, also notes that faith is a significant motivating factor in people offering time as volunteers. Though 40% of young people volunteer regularly, this figure rises sharply with those who are more committed in their faith. The report notes that it could be because being part of a church offers young people more opportunities to volunteer, as well as being motivated to do so by their faith in the first place.

The top three reasons for volunteering were 'contribute to society', 'like helping people' and 'looks good on CV' (!)

The report also finds that among teenagers 50% buy fair trade where available, and 85% try to reduce their carbon footprint.

It would be great to hear this story about our young people more often, alongside the ones we more regularly hear about crime, violence, sex and consumerism.

Full report here
EA statement and links here.