Despite the challenges of the world we live in today, one truth holds steady: the need for youth volunteerism remains tremendous. Communities thrive when people come together in service and young people are increasingly raising their hands to do just that.
Still, for many nonprofit organizations, the phrase “doing more with less” remains all too familiar. But what if “more” was possible? What if you had a steady stream of passionate, curious, and committed young volunteers—ready not just to serve, but to grow with and alongside your organization?
Twenty five percent of American Red Cross volunteers are 24 or younger. We know they will become the organization’s future leaders, service volunteers, blood donors, and community supporters, if we give them a good reason to. In 2024, we partnered with DoSomething Strategic to better understand how to recruit and retain this new generation of changemakers. To share our learnings, we co-published What Gen Z Wants: The Future of Volunteerism, a report that reflects the voices of more than 1,300 young people aged 13 to 25 and surfaces powerful insights about what matters most to them when it comes to service.
Three themes emerged across every age, identity, and level of experience: Community Impact, Connections, and Careers. This article explores the “Three C’s Framework” and offers reflections and takeaways for organizations across the nonprofit sector looking to evolve their youth engagement strategies to meet the needs of today’s young people.
Gen Z wants to make a difference—and they want to see it. A striking 93 percent of young people in our survey said they were motivated to volunteer by the chance to have a tangible impact on their community.
They don’t view volunteering as a transaction. It’s not about checking a box for school or impressing a future employer. It’s about showing up, solving real problems, and building a better future. While 83 percent said they value traditional, in-person volunteer experiences, they also voiced a desire for unique opportunities that meet them across other forums. This can be done through mutual aid, advocacy campaigns, remote volunteering or even informal acts of kindness. The definition of volunteering varies depending on who you ask, but what matters most is embedding transformational experiences where volunteers can feel their impact!
Giselle Cadena, a Red Cross youth coordinator, recalls the time she spent volunteering during COVID by providing food to families in Los Angeles communities. One day, a family in a minivan with three children inside approached their volunteer site. “They were scared because we were masked up,” she said, “but that’s when I realized you can smile with your eyes.” As they loaded food into the car, the children smiled back. Despite early mornings and fears of bringing the virus home, moments like that made the effort worth it—knowing those kids would have breakfast and lunch.
At the Red Cross, this insight is shaping how we offer youth engagement opportunities. For example, Red Cross Clubs across the country now empower teens and young adults to lead local projects that address issues they care about—from blood donation awareness to disaster preparedness in their communities. These experiences are not only local and hands-on, but give volunteers a clear line of sight into the impact they’re creating.
Gen Z is coming of age during a loneliness epidemic. Recent studies have confirmed what many already feel: They are the loneliest generation, with 73 percent of Gen Z reporting they feel alone either sometimes or always. Volunteering can be a powerful antidote.
Eighty-five percent of the young people we surveyed said that volunteering helps them make new friends and build meaningful connections. However, only 45 percent say they’ve actually formed close relationships through service. What’s the difference? Consistency.
Among regular volunteers, 70 percent said they built meaningful relationships through volunteering. That number drops to 36 percent among those who volunteer infrequently. Make your message to young people loud and clear: show up, and you’ll find your people.
Just ask Natasha Banga, chair of the Red Cross’s National Youth Council, who’s been showing up for over five years. When she first joined Zoom calls as a new volunteer, she immediately felt welcomed by adult allies who supported her in establishing a youth presence in North Texas. That early support helped her forge deep bonds — including one with a fellow officer who became her best friend. “We became best friends through the process of working together,” she shares.
At the Red Cross, this insight has led to a renewed focus on creating experiences that center belonging by designing more flexible, task-based, and short-term volunteer opportunities that meet people where they are. By expanding opportunity types and launching new tools (more to come soon!), we’re not only building a stronger, more diverse pipeline of volunteers, but also fostering deeper personal connections and a sense of community through meaningful, accessible pathways to service.
Young people today are entering a workforce transformed by technology, automation, and uncertainty. Many are trying to determine not only what they want to do but who they want to be. Volunteering can offer both purpose and transferable skills.
Seventy-nine percent of respondents said they value volunteering as a way to advance within an organization, and 77 percent said they see it as a way to explore future careers. Mentorship was another major driver: three in four respondents said they want to meet role models and mentors through volunteering.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (2025) says that by 2030, 7 of the top 10 in-demand skills will relate to human, social, and environmental connection. This includes leadership, resilience, flexibility, self-awareness, empathy, active listening, and curiosity. Volunteering puts these skills in a real-world context. These opportunities are more than resume builders. They are formative experiences that shape identity and prepare young people to enter the workforce with confidence.
Kaden Espino began his Red Cross journey in high school and now serves as a youth engagement lead. He’s witnessed firsthand how volunteering can transform young people—including himself. “I’ve seen high schoolers come in shy and unsure, just like I was,” he shared. Over time, they gain confidence, discover their passions, and even land spots at their dream schools. Watching them grow into leaders and find their place within the Red Cross fuels Kaden’s own passion for youth development.
At the Red Cross, this insight has informed the development of career-focused programs like the National Youth Council, which offers volunteers leadership training, peer collaboration, and mentorship from Red Cross professionals. In addition, our young volunteers often receive support creating personal statements, drafting resumes, submitting college applications, and preparing for job interviews.
The Three C’s Framework should be woven into youth engagement strategy. However, a strong youth engagement strategy is never one size fits all—you also need to consider the diverse needs and lived experiences of the youth population you are serving. Let’s dive in.
A CHANGING U.S. DEMOGRAPHIC
With each generation, the U.S. grows more racially and ethnically diverse. As such, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the most diverse generations in American history. Today, fewer than half of Gen Alpha identify as non-Hispanic white. They have higher percentages of single-parent families, mixed-race families, and LGBTQ+ parents. Gen Z is also less religious than previous generations.
To engage these generations, organizations should view their broad spectrum of lived experiences as an asset and design volunteer opportunities that meet and accommodate their individual needs and preferences.
Our research found that young people from BIPOC communities prioritized different aspects of the volunteer experience. Respondents in this segment placed higher value on mentorship, recognition, scholarship opportunities, career development, and more often expressed a desire for belonging through volunteering.
Hispanic respondents were slightly more likely than non-Hispanic respondents to learn about volunteer opportunities at school, and less likely to hear about them through friends or family. This highlights the importance of making opportunities visible in school settings through inclusive messaging and by building partnerships with schools and other trusted institutions where young people are already gathering. Additionally, consider how you use diverse imagery and Spanish-language versions of your communications to make them more inclusive.
Our research showed stark differences in the frequency of volunteering for 13-17-year-olds (62 percent volunteered monthly or weekly) compared to 18-25-year-olds (39 percent). As high school graduates move away from home or enter college, the number of opportunities competing for their attention multiplies. With increased independence, exposure to new communities, and a growing focus on career planning, young adults begin exploring different aspects of who they are. This period of transition often includes reevaluating their civic identity—leading them to new causes, commitments, and ways of getting involved. If your organization is engaging this younger demographic, it’s critical to establish a strategy that strengthens your relationship with younger volunteers in the teenage years before the competing priorities brought on by early adulthood.
At the Red Cross, we are prioritizing inclusive onboarding experiences, highlighting volunteer stories that honor and amplify the diverse backgrounds and perspectives of our participants, and listening to youth voices in program design.
THE PATH FORWARD
The findings from our research with DoSomething Strategic serve as a signal for the entire nonprofit sector. Generations Z and Alpha are motivated by community impact, connections, and careers. Eager to lead, yet they expect volunteer experiences that are flexible, inclusive, and integrated into the real-world impact they want to make.
For the Red Cross, it means evolving how we recruit, engage, and develop young leaders. It involves listening closely and designing opportunities with young people, not just for them.
For the broader sector, it’s a moment to rethink long-standing models of youth engagement. Whether you're a local nonprofit or a national service organization, meeting the expectations of these generations requires more than just new messaging—it demands a new mindset.
If you want to learn more about our youth volunteerism strategy, please get in touch. We’re here to help spark ideas, partnerships, and programs that inspire a more connected, impactful future for all.
About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides comfort to victims of disasters; supplies about 40% of the nation’s blood; teaches skills that save lives; distributes international humanitarian aid; and supports veterans, military members and their families. The Red Cross is a nonprofit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to deliver its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or CruzRojaAmericana.org, or follow us on social media.
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