Executive Summary

COLLEGE STUDENTS HELPING AMERICA
BACKGROUND

Every day, colleges and universities provide college students—who represent a large and growing source of the 

nation’s volunteers—with opportunities to deliver valuable services to communities across the country. Since the 

terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the nation has 

witnessed a significant upsurge in volunteers, particularly 

among this demographic. Both on campuses and in surrounding communities, millions of college students are 

participating in a wide range of volunteer service activities, 

from teaching and mentoring children from disadvantaged 

circumstances, to raising funds for worthy causes, to helping their fellow Americans recover from hurricanes and 

other disasters.

The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service is to improve lives, strengthen communities, and foster civic engagement through service and 

volunteering. As part of that mission, the Corporation 

makes a significant investment in nurturing a culture of 

service on college campuses. Building on that support, 

the Corporation is working with other federal agencies, 

colleges and universities, higher education and student associations, and nonprofit organizations to encourage even 

greater levels of college student volunteering and to ensure 

that college graduates embark on a lifetime of service. 

Our goal is to increase the number of college students 

volunteering each year, reaching 5 million by 2010. 

To identify key trends in college student volunteering and 

to understand their implications for growing volunteering 

among college students, the Corporation has produced 

a new report, titled College Students Helping America. The 

report analyzes data collected from 2002 to 2005 as part 

of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a comprehensive 

and scientifically rigorous survey of 60,000 American 

households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and 

the Bureau of Labor Statistics. With the Corporation’s 

support, the Census Bureau has administered a volunteer 

supplement to the CPS each September since 2002.1 For 

the purposes of this analysis, college students were defined 

as individuals between 16 and 24 years of age who, at 

the time of the survey, were enrolled in a post-secondary 

higher education institution. 

To read or download the full report, visit 

www.nationalservice.gov.

KEY FINDINGS

The number of college students who volunteer is up 

by approximately 20 percent from 2002 to 2005 

n The number of college students volunteering grew 

by nearly 600,000 from 2.7 million in 2002 to 3.3 

million in 2005. 

n The growth rate of college student volunteers 

(approximately 20%) is more than double the growth 

rate of all adult volunteers (9%). 

n In 2005, approximately 30.2 percent of college 

students volunteered, exceeding the volunteer rate 

for the general adult population of 28.8 percent.

The growth in college volunteering has primarily been 

generated by youth who attended high school or were firstyear college students during the terrorist attacks of 9/11 

n The vast majority (84%) of current college 

student volunteers were of high-school age (between 

14 to 18 years old) in 2001. 

n Since September 2001, the overall percent of college 

students who volunteer has increased from 27.1 percent 

to 30.2 percent. 

n The bulk of the increase in the college student 

volunteering rate comes from the difference in the 

volunteer rates of 18 to 24 year-old college students 

in 2005 (30.2%) and 18 to 24 year-old college students 

in 2002 (26.8%).

Tutoring and mentoring are the most popular volunteer 

activities among college students

n Among college student volunteers, tutoring (26.6%) 

and mentoring (23.8%) are the most common volunteer activities. 

n 39.2 percent of black college student volunteers 

engage in mentoring activities, compared to 22.3 

percent of white college student volunteers. 

Students who work part time volunteer more than students 

who do not work at all

n Volunteer rates are highest among students who 

work 1-10 hours (46.4%) and 11-15 hours (35%) a 

week, while students who are not employed volunteer 

at a considerably lower rate (29.8%).

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
n The volunteering rate declines substantially as 

college students work more hours each week. Students 

who work 31-35 hours and 36-40 hours volunteer at 

rates of 22.8 percent and 23.2 percent, respectively. 

PROFILE OF COLLEGE STUDENT VOLUNTEERS

Who Volunteers

n College students follow the national trend in volunteering, with females (33%) volunteering at a higher rate 

than males (26.8%), and whites (32%) volunteering at a 

higher rate than students of other races and ethnicities 

(23.6%).

n College students are twice as likely to volunteer as 

individuals of the same age who are not enrolled in 

an institution of higher education (30.2% and 15.1%, 

respectively). 

 

Where They Volunteer

n Nearly a third (31.6%) of college student volunteers 

serve with educational or youth services organizations, 

compared to about a quarter (26.3%) of the general 

adult volunteer population. 

n Less than a quarter (23.4%) of college student

volunteers serve with religious organizations, compared 

to more than a third (34.8%) of the general adult 

volunteer population.

How They Volunteer

n 44.1 percent of college student volunteers engage in 

“regular” volunteering (volunteering 12 or more weeks 

a year with their main organization). 

n College student volunteers are more likely than the 

general adult volunteer population (27% to 23.4%) to 

be “episodic” volunteers (volunteering fewer than two 

weeks per year with their main organization). 

State Rankings of College Student Volunteering 

As part of our 2006 report Volunteering in America: State 

Trends and Rankings, the Corporation produced the 

first-ever state volunteer rankings for the overall adult 

population and college students. Those results are 

reproduced in the full College Students Helping America

report. Key findings include: 

n Across the 50 states and the District of Columbia, 

college student volunteer rates ranged from 21.4 

percent to 62.9 percent between 2003 and 2005. 

n Six of the 10 states that rank in the top ten based 

on overall volunteering rates also rank in the top 10 

for college student volunteering rates.

Building a Culture of College Service

The Corporation for National and Community Service 

applauds the growing number of higher education 

institutions that are embracing their civic mission and 

building strong community connections in new and 

creative ways. The Corporation believes that colleges 

and universities and the students that attend them are 

critical to building a culture of citizenship, service, and 

responsibility in America. 

Each year, the Corporation makes a significant investment in building a culture of service on college campuses through: Learn and Serve America, AmeriCorps, 

VISTA, and Senior Corps grant programs; the provision 

of training and technical assistance; and Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards provided to AmeriCorps 

members who use their awards to pay for college tuition 

or to pay back student loans.

In addition, the Corporation is working closely with 

our various governmental, educational, and nonprofit 

partners to increase the number of college students who 

volunteer to 5 million a year by 2010. Key strategies 

include:

 

n Strengthening and expanding our network of 

intermediary organizations and institutions (Campus 

Compacts, higher education and student associations, 

Volunteer Centers, State Service Commissions, faithbased and other community-based organizations) that 

provide key support for service and service-learning.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3

Results do not include volunteer activities since Hurricane Katrina.

Annual College Student Volunteering

3.2

3.0

2.8

2.5

3.4

2002 2003 2004 2005

3.0

3.0

2.7

3.3 3.3

(In millions)
n Ensuring that more college students have opportunities to serve as part of their academic studies through 

high-quality service-learning, and building the pipeline for future college student volunteers by expanding 

service-learning in K-12 schools. 

n Encouraging campuses to develop more community service offices, offer more courses and degrees in 

nonprofit management, and take other steps to build connections with community organizations.

n Increasing the number of college students serving as tutors and mentors to youth from disadvantaged 

circumstances, particularly to prepare them for high school completion and college attendance.

n Supporting efforts to expand service opportunities through the Federal Work-Study program. 

n Promoting the value and importance of service on campus and reducing barriers that inhibit students 

from engaging in service.

1

 The 2002 data include results from September 2001 to September 2002, thus including volunteering that occurred in the year 

immediately after the September 11 attacks. The September 2005 survey asks individuals not only if they volunteer, but also 

where they volunteer, how they volunteer and how often they volunteer. Results do not include data since Hurricane Katrina.

Corporation for National and Community Service Authors

Lillian Dote, Policy Analyst, Office of Research and Policy Development

Kevin Cramer, Deputy Director for Evaluation and Research, Office of Research and Policy Development

Nathan Dietz, Research Associate and Statistician, Office of Research and Policy Development

Robert Grimm, Jr., Director, Office of Research and Policy Development

The Office of Research & Policy Development

The Office of Research & Policy Development (RPD) is part of the CEO’s Office within the Corporation for National and 

Community Service. RPD’s mission is to develop and cultivate knowledge that will enhance the mission of the Corporation 

and of volunteer and community service programs. 

Related Research Reports on Volunteering

Volunteering in America: State Trends and Rankings, June 2006. Presents a national, regional, and state-by-state analysis of volunteering trends. 

Volunteers Mentoring Youth: Implications for Closing the Mentoring Gap, May 2006. Provides a greater understanding of the 

characteristics and traits that distinguish individuals whose volunteering includes mentoring youth from volunteers who do 

not mentor. 

Youth Helping America Series. Educating for Active Citizens: Service-Learning, School-Based Service, and Youth Civic Engagement, March 

2006. Takes a closer look at participation in school-based service among middle school and high school aged youth, paying 

particular attention to the relationship between different service-learning experiences and civic attitudes and outcomes. 

Youth Helping America Series. Building Active Citizens: The Role of Social Institutions in Teen Volunteering, November 2005. Explores 

the state of youth volunteering and the connections between youth volunteering and the primary social institutions to which 

teenagers are exposed – family, schools, and religious congregations. 

The mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service is to improve lives, strengthen 

 communities, and foster civic engagement through service and volunteering. Each year, the 

Corporation provides opportunities for more than two million Americans of all ages and 

backgrounds to serve their communities and country through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn 

 and Serve America.

To read or download our reports, visit www.nationalservice.gov.

October 2006

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY