No Group Does It Better

TEENS: I'm sure you are aware that your age group is often depicted as heedless, selfish and uncaring. But when teens do something right, it never seems to be news. I'm dedicating this column to rectifying that matter and informing adults of something that teenagers, I'm sure, already know. Young people volunteer their time and energy to help the needy and underprivileged at a higher rate than adults do. They also freely share their limited financial resources to help the less fortunate.

About 30 percent of all volunteer work by teens was performed as extracurricular activities sponsored by their schools, according to a Gallup Poll. The most frequently reported unpaid volunteer tasks were babysitting, assisting the handicapped or elderly, and serving as an aide or assistant to a paid employee. On average, teens had about three volunteer assignments over the course of the year.

A growing emphasis on community service by schools is having a huge impact on teen volunteering. Ten percent of the teens surveyed reported that their high schools required a certain number of hours in community service for graduation. Other study findings include:

— Teenagers en masse donated 1.5 billion hours of their time to worthy causes throughout the year, not just during the school session.

— Teenagers volunteer because they want to do something useful, and they think they'll enjoy the work. (These are the most frequently cited reasons.)

— Eighty-five percent rated their volunteer experience as good or very good. Less than 1 percent rated their experience as not good at all.

— When teens were asked what would get them to volunteer again, the most frequently cited response was: Being asked.

— Membership in religious institutions also has a major impact on volunteering and contributing.

When it comes to volunteering, no group does it better than teens!
 

THE DECISION SHOULD BE YOURS

DR. WALLACE: I'm 19 and so is my boyfriend. We are both working and saving our money so we can get married next year. He lives with his parents and I live with my grandmother who was my legal guardian.

Last month, I found out that I am 3 months pregnant. That was a big, but somewhat exciting, surprise. Greg and I talked about what I should do, and he thought it best for me to get an abortion because of our financial situation. His parents also feel the same. My grandmother won't advise me.

I want to have and keep our baby because it doesn't take a fortune to make a child happy; it takes love. Greg and I are in love, and we will get married next year, regardless of our decision about whether or not I should have the baby. Please give me your opinion. — Nameless, Phoenix, Ariz.

NAMELESS: The final decision, after Greg and you get input from trusted friends, adults and professionals, should be yours.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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