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Volunteering
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Through volunteering, young people can build meaningful relationships, contribute to their communities, and develop skills and experiences that support lifelong health and wellbeing. Communities can help young people thrive by creating opportunities to contribute, connect, and make a difference.
Are students volunteering?
Use the dropdown menu to select a question, then click on the map below to explore results about our young people by grade, gender, sexual orientation, and race/ethnicity.
Different communities asked about this topic in different ways. Values marked with an asterisk (*) indicate that the question was not asked in that county. Results are organized by county, although participating school districts do not always align with county boundaries.
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Takeaways
- In Berkshire, Franklin/North Quabbin, and Hampshire counties, approximately half (46% to 56%) of students said they had volunteered at least once when asked how often they had volunteered in the past year.
- In Partial Hampden County, students were asked a different question: if they volunteered specifically after school or on the weekends. 20% of students said they had. This question could be interpreted to mean regular volunteering and is limited to that done outside of school.
- Even though the questions are different, we see across all four counties that volunteering was more common among…
- 12th graders than 8th or 10th graders
- Cis female students than cis male students
- White students than Latine or Black students
Understanding the Data
Not all students took the survey, so the results may not reflect everyone’s experiences. Also, when results are for a small number of students, even one or two different answers can noticeably change the results. This data should be considered alongside other information to better understand what students are experiencing.
- Differences across student groups or regions may be shaped by many factors, including school and community conditions, racism, classism, ableism, heterosexism, and gender-based discrimination. When interpreting the data, we encourage users to consider the broader systems and environments that shape health and well-being.
- We do not recommend comparing responses between counties because survey questions, methods, and timing may differ across the region.
Learn more about Understanding the Data.
Trends & Comparisons
Statewide, students are asked a substantially different question about volunteering. Volunteer work and community service participation have remained steady among MA high schoolers (37% in 2019 and 38% in 2025) and middle schoolers (36% in 2019 to 39% in 2025).
Our Definitions
Select a term to learn more
See our Methods and Data Dictionary to learn how we grouped students into categories based on their responses to demographic questions.
Free and reduced cost services
Find free and reduced cost services on 413Cares Community Platform related to volunteering.
Strategies & Research to Promote Youth Wellbeing
We're continuously adding new resources. Know of a resource that could help support youth well-being in Western Massachusetts? We'd love to hear about it.
Strategies
Explore evidence-based practices, promising approaches, public awareness campaigns, tools, policy strategies, and examples of local action that support youth well-being and help prevent negative health outcomes.
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Research
Explore surveys, reports, briefs, research studies, and other data resources that help communities understand youth experiences, identify needs, monitor trends, and inform action.
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