Learning to volunteer

Does serving in the army entitle young people to ignore the needs of society?

Twenty-seven percent of American college students volunteer with charitable organizations, in keeping with the overall rate of volunteerism among the population as a whole, the U.S. government reports. In the United States, volunteering is considered an important component of a young person's resume and a central element in campus life.

In contrast, a 2006 study by the Israeli Center for Third Sector Research reports that only 19 percent of all Israelis volunteer with nonprofit organizations. While no statistic was reported specifically for college and university students, the study showed that volunteerism rates are even lower among secular Israelis. Anecdotally, my own experience in recruiting Technion students for the local chapter of Engineers Without Borders has proved disappointing. Though interest appears strong, almost none of the students ever show up at meetings. I have heard this story repeated by others, leading me to wonder why it is so hard to convince students to get involved.

There may be several factors at play. The lack of "campus life" and the close proximity of family reduces the allure of student organizations, which often serve as a social nexus for American students far from home. More important, Israeli students are generally older than their American counterparts, and often support themselves while enrolled. This significantly reduces the amount of free time they have for volunteering. Still, many students at top Israeli institutions do not work during the school year, while many American college students who are employed still find time for good works.

Then there is the hurried attitude of Israeli students, who have postponed their education for two or three years - sometimes more - to serve in the military, and who therefore often rush through their degrees, fostering the perception that their tight schedules have no room for volunteering. This attitude reflects their anxiety of being "behind the curve" due to their army service, a worry that is exacerbated by regular, inflexible reserve duty. Psychologically, the time Israeli young people invest in the military leads some to feel they have done enough - they've paid their debt to society, and now they must focus on getting ahead.

Regardless of young people's valuable contributions in the military, these perceptions are unfortunate, not only because they limit volunteerism, but because they promote workaholism, careerism and a culture of unchecked individualism. Luckily, the symptom points to the cure. More altruistic activity can bring these anxieties and ambitions into balance.

Though the value of volunteers for the communities they serve is obvious, the benefits to the volunteers are often overlooked. Volunteering reorients young people, making them aware of their value within society at large, and easing youthful self-absorption, wealth-competitiveness and rat-race anxieties. These benefits are not derived from writing a check. Donating your time is fundamentally different from donating your money, in the sense that we can only gain perspective through experience. As enlightened and charitable as we may be as individuals, there is nothing like investing a few hours of good, hard work for someone else's sake.

One notable success among third-sector (nonprofit, nongovernmental) institutions that recruit college students is the Perach tutoring program. While popular, it is hard to consider it a true volunteer organization, since participants receive monetary stipends or academic credit. But the proof is in the pudding of Perach's success: Students want to do something good for the community, as long as they get something in return.

As institutions, the universities should take an active part in building incentives for student volunteerism. They should make it easier to earn academic credit by working in a third sector organization. As in the U.S., community service should play a small but significant role in college admissions decisions, and everybody should know it. This would encourage young Israelis to learn the value of service early on, and could potentially boost the number of Israelis who choose national service year (shnat sherut) programs before being drafted.

Since most discharged soldiers take a year or more off before their undergraduate studies, such a policy would encourage young people to make productive use of this "decompression period." After all, just because you're waiting tables to save up for a spin through South America doesn't mean you can't find time to coach a basketball team, feed wounded sea turtles or support at-risk teenagers on a crisis line. Many young people discover talents and careers through volunteering that they never considered while in school.

Finally, successful adults need to set the tone. By any measure, Israelis are a charitable people. Apart from the 19 percent who volunteer formally, a whopping 72 percent of the population donates money to charitable organizations. Time may be money, but money is not time. We need to get out there and get involved. Usually, we get back more than we give.

Jon Liberzon is a graduate student and writer living in Haifa.