Motivation of Youth Program Volunteers

Abstract

This study is focused on the motivation behind youth program volunteers. Specifically, research centered on what motivated volunteers to get involved with the My Turn organization as well as what motivated them to stay involved with the program after their initial engagement. The Herzberg Two-Factor theory provided a framework for this study. A total of eight participants were interviewed using a qualitative research method. Each participant was a current or former Virginia Tech athlete who volunteered with the My Turn organization in some way since its creation in 2020. After a thorough analysis of the data, the five themes that emerged were: caring for the youth, self-actualization, serving community/giving back, building substantial relationships, and mentorship. These factors were highlighted numerous times throughout the data collection process. These were the aspects that were most significant to volunteers and impacted their decisions to both get involved and stay involved. Based on these findings, recommendations were made to current and future youth organization administrators. These recommendations include adding some kind of training requirement for the volunteers. Training such as sensitivity training or mental health workshops could really help to make volunteers a much better resource to the youth. The information from this research could be utilized to bring in effective, caring volunteers to assist in the ultimate goal of youth development.