Young people, volunteering and youth projects: a rapid review of recent evidence
This review was conducted by a consortium of organisations led by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) and involving the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR), as part of the scoping study of a formative evaluation of v, the youth volunteering charity in England which was launched in May 2006. The first section examines the evidence base on young people and volunteering, looking at both their attitudes to and participation in volunteering. The second section explores specific types of volunteering and various government funded volunteering projects and initiatives (from the UK and beyond), from which some key lessons are identified. Finally, section three briefly summarises the main developments in the literature since the last comprehensive review conducted in 2004, and points towards some remaining gaps in the research. This review also refers to the work of Project Scotland which was established in May 2005 to help young people in Scotland realise their potential through volunteering.
