While many nonprofit leaders are enjoying the short-term benefits of college efforts to promote community service on their campuses, they also encourage student volunteerism in the hopes that doing so will lead college graduates to become lifetime volunteers and benefactors. A research study released last year suggests that college service could indeed influence lifetime behavior. Students who spent six or more hours a week volunteering during their senior year were nearly twice as likely to volunteer after college as those who were not active in community service. That's promising news for nonprofit groups, especially since interest in volunteering by college students shows no sign of waning. Campus Compact, for example, grew from three members in 1985 to its current 689 colleges.
Many students also arrive on campus with significant community-service experience.
Numerous school districts across the nation have added volunteer time as a requirement for graduation during the past decade. In Maryland, all students must complete 80 hours of community service before graduating from high school, and California is expected to pass a similar measure soon. Mr. Bassett says the university realized several years ago that it had to take a lead role in improving the condition of its hometown. So the university worked with nonprofit, business, government, and other local leaders to create the University Park Partnership, a coalition aimed at improving the nearby Main South neighborhood. Elizabeth Hollander, executive director of Campus Compact, says such campuses work with local leaders and residents to improve all aspects of their hometowns, including education, housing, health care, and job creation.