New Article: Volunteering and Civic Engagement among Recent Veterans

Posted by on January 18, 2010

Volunteering Eases Return to Civilian Life for Young Veterans

Recent veterans who have volunteered since returning to the United States show a better adjustment to civilian life than their fellow returned servicemen and women who have not volunteered, according to a new CIRCLE fact sheet entitled “Volunteering and Civic Engagement among Recent Veterans.”  The research shows that volunteering helps bolster ties to the community and eases the transition back to civilian life. Serving in the military may have given a large portion of veterans the opportunity, motivation, and skills to participate more actively in their communities upon their return. For instance, 39 percent of veterans who have volunteered since their return from OIF/OEF were not regular volunteers before serving in the military. The survey draws on information on veteran volunteering trends from Civic Enterprises’ survey of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veterans, the Census 2008 Current Population Survey Volunteering Supplement and the 2009 Civic Health Index.

To learn more about this research, visit http://www.civicyouth.org/?p=364