If you picture volunteering as teenagers picking up litter or sorting cans at a food drive, you might be missing most of the story.

A new survey suggests young people are helping their communities in large numbers. They are simply doing it differently than previous generations.

About eight in 10 Americans between the ages of 12 and 25 say they have taken part in some form of community service or volunteering, according to a survey conducted by The Allstate Foundation and Gallup.

But much of that service happens outside traditional nonprofit structures.

Many young people describe helping others as something woven into everyday life rather than a formal activity scheduled through an organization.

“When we typically think of service it can be very narrow. Of, like, kids picking up litter or engaging in food drives,” said Zoë Jenkins, 22, who oversees recruitment for the youth engagement nonprofit Civics Unplugged. “That all definitely counts as service. But I think for me, how I think about it is just people helping other people. And that’s, I think, a really broad bucket.”

Among the young people who volunteer, about two-thirds said helping others or making a difference was a major motivation. Roughly six in 10 said contributing to their community was a key reason, while about half said they wanted to support causes they care deeply about.

The findings come as many nonprofits try to rebuild volunteer networks that shrank during the COVID-19 pandemic and now face an aging volunteer base.

Younger generations appear eager to help, but they often struggle to find opportunities that fit into busy schedules or that they even know about.

About half of respondents who said they had never volunteered told Gallup that a lack of time and not knowing where to find opportunities kept them from participating.

Even so, many are still stepping in to help in smaller ways.

Around seven in 10 young people reported helping someone with a task at least a few times in the past week. Researchers say that suggests many young people see service less as a formal obligation and more as an everyday habit.

Greg Weatherford II, director of youth empowerment initiatives at The Allstate Foundation, said service can take many forms.

“We so applaud the young people that build complex nonprofits that solve complex issues,” he said. “Equally important is the young person that’s taking time to write a letter to a classmate who may just be needing to have some extra encouragement as they get ready to take their school test or just navigate a new semester.”

The survey found that donating goods is the most common type of service.

About half of respondents said they had donated or organized donations of food, clothing or other items. These efforts can be easier for young people to organize quickly, especially through social media, and do not require transportation or complicated scheduling.

Fundraising and awareness campaigns were also common. About three in 10 young adults who volunteer said they had raised money for a cause, while roughly two in 10 said they had helped raise awareness.

“Young people are perhaps more aware than ever of the power of money,” Jenkins said.

The survey also found that many young volunteers want more control over how they participate.

About half said their service experiences allow them to make decisions, help plan activities or take on leadership roles at least sometimes. But young people are less often involved in setting goals or designing how projects are carried out.

That gap has prompted some nonprofits to rethink how they engage younger volunteers.

Jenkins said many organizations still offer the same limited activities, such as litter cleanups or canned food drives, regardless of volunteers’ ages.

She believes service opportunities should evolve as young people grow older and gain new skills.

Storytelling and advocacy are two examples she points to, where young people can use their voices and networks to advance causes they care about.

“It’s not that young people don’t care,” Jenkins said. “We’re not necessarily providing the right opportunities that actually let young people feel like they’re showing up as their full selves.”

Some nonprofits are already adapting.

The American Red Cross says it has seen a surge in youth involvement since the pandemic. From 2024 to 2025, the organization reported a 25% increase in volunteers from Generation Z, making it the fastest-growing age group in its volunteer base.

Much of that growth comes from more than 1,400 youth-led clubs, many based in high schools. Students help decide how their clubs will participate in Red Cross activities, ranging from disaster preparedness education to blood drives and fundraising campaigns.

Matt Bertram, the organization’s vice president of volunteer services, said flexibility is key.

“There’s lots of folks who want to do traditional volunteering. There’s lots of folks who want to do a one-time project. And there’s lots of folks who want to maybe do something through a club or school or through their service organization,” he said. “If we can continue to work hard to put all those people together, that’s how we’ll build that workforce of the future.”