College students extend heart and hope

By Christy Oglesby
CNN

(CNN) -- At 16, Lucas Benitez had a cause. His persistence in fighting for the rights of migrant workers eventually exposed two slave labor operations in south Florida and secured $100,000 in unpaid wages for tomato and pepper pickers.

Before she reached 30, Heather Barr, who spent part of her youth living on the streets, won a $1 million class action lawsuit against the city of New York fighting for the rights of people with mental illness. The 1998 victory was a continuation of the work she began while in college. "Learning psychology didn't seem very real to me in a book," said Barr, 29. "And I was interested in how mental illness affected real people, and I wanted to be involved in their lives."

Barr and Benitez won a national award for their community work, but a study of volunteerism among college freshmen and young people reveals that they are not atypical of 20-somethings. Increasingly, college students are getting involved in community projects.

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The Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been surveying college freshmen annually for more than 30 years about their community involvement. And the results of the 2000 survey indicated steady growth.

Last year, 81 percent of the 216,000 freshmen who answered the survey said they had performed volunteer work during the previous year. That was up from 66 percent in 1990. And 23 percent of those surveyed said they would continue volunteer work during college. In 1990, 17 percent indicated they would remain involved in community projects.

Do Something, the non-profit organization that honored Barr and Benitez for their volunteer work, has awarded grants to college students and people under 30 for most of its 8-year-history. And when people sent in proposals for grants, "it was very diverse," said Rafe Bemporad, Do Something spokesman. "There were people tutoring and mentoring and people who worked with the homeless or people who had been abused."

Last year, Do Something switched its focus to encouraging middle and high school students to get involved in community projects. A survey released Wednesday revealed the following:

• 78 percent believe people their age can create positive change in their communities.

• 68 percent of teens choose to get involved in the community because it makes them feel good.

• 64 percent believe people their age have good ideas about how to help the community.

• 27 percent of teens believe elected officials care about issues that affect them.

• 54 percent said they would welcome a community service requirement at their school.

For those looking for a way to get involved in their community, these sites provide lists of volunteer opportunities.

Campus Outreach Opportunity League

Virtual Volunteering Project

Idealist.org

City Cares

4 Labors of Love

VolunteerMatch

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