A New Surge of Volunteerism

"It's great that we now…have this huge national service movement. We hope that it continues to increase. It's definitely a great opportunity for young people." -- City Year volunteer, Josh Murphy.

More and more young people in the United States are taking time away from their studies and from work to serve as volunteers in schools, soup kitchens, parks and other places.

Unlike the Peace Corps’ call to service in developing countries around the world, this call brings volunteers to places around the United States, where disparities between rich and poor are growing.

This report follows two volunteers at the City Year Washington program, which is designed to help teachers at struggling elementary schools in the nation’s capital.

City Year’s motto is "Give a year. Change the world." One smile at a time, it seems, both for the volunteers and for the schoolkids they’re helping out.

This radio report by Brian Wagner shows how college students recently chose volunteer work over beach vacations.