Overview & Purpose
Facilitators & Challenges in Youth Volunteering
Strategies to Engage Youth in Sport for All Volunteering
Strategic Actions for Youth Volunteering
A Guide for Practice
DISCLAIMER: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Overview & Purpose
The following strategies are a result of a rapid literature review research by the University of Limerick.
Goal
Screening
- Identify effective interventions adopted by Sport for All organizations to engage youth (18–30 years old) in volunteering roles.
- Examine key facilitators and barriers influencing youth volunteering participation in the Sport for All context.
- 93 studies imported for screening
- 80 studies screened
- 11 studies included in review
- Covering the period: 2012–2025
Definition
Volunteering refers to the act of freely providing time for the common good, through planned, proactive, and not remunerated service provision in a formal organizational setting. Sports volunteers are predominantly motivated by a shared enthusiasm for the sport, social relationships and career factors.
Facilitators & Challenges
in Youth Volunteering
Effective youth engagement begins with understanding the benefits, motivators, and barriers shaping the volunteering experience.
+INFO
Benefits for Youth and Sport Organizations
Volunteering provides youth with leadership, teamwork, and employability skills, while helping organizations strengthen social capital, promote inclusion, and build long-term community networks.
+INFO
What Motivates or Discourages Youth to Volunteer
A sense of meaning, career prospects, and social values often drive youth to volunteer. However, barriers such as time constraints, lack of mentorship, or feeling undervalued can hinder sustained participation.
+INFO
Organizational Challenges and Actions
Many organizations face challenges in attracting and retaining youth volunteers due to weak recruitment strategies, inaccessible pathways, or poor alignment with community needs. Tailored, youth-centered approaches are key to overcoming these gaps.
Strategic Actions
for Youth Volunteering
Drawn from evidence across the review, these strategies support organizations in creating inclusive, responsive, and impactful youth volunteering environments within the Sport for All movement.
Connect Locally
Value the Culture
Champion Inclusion
Prove the Impact
Align with local communities, contribute to creating cohesive communities locally and develop with them a network of volunteers.
Promote the perception of cultural value of volunteering.
Address the legitimacy of sports volunteering and its long-term impact in volunteers’ personal lives and the community.
Address the capacity to integrate people of all abilities, from different cultures and diverse backgrounds.
Support Collaboratively
Provide close collaboration and mutual support with volunteers.
A Guide for Practice
These steps help organizations design, deliver, and sustain youth engagement strategies before, during, and after volunteering experiences.
Before Engagement - Plan and Purpose
- Define clear objectives (quantitative & qualitative)
- Strategically recruit and select youth volunteers aligned with those goals
During Engagement – Equip and Empower
After Engagement – Sustain and Grow
- Offer training and build values-based motivation
- Monitor engagement and provide performance feedback
- Evaluate growth in personal development
- Assess wider social impact
- Retain volunteers and foster long-term loyalty
Tailor your strategies based on the unique challenges and facilitators identified through evidence and youth insights. Effective engagement isn’t one-size-fits-all.
For Youth
For Organizational & Community
• Development of leadership, teamwork, and organizational skills • Improved employability and integration in community life
• Stronger social capital and inclusion • Long-term commitment and network-building
• Reduced local disparities
Youth Motivations (Facilitators)
Youth Barriers (Challenges)
• Feeling that their contribution is meaningful
• Altruism and social value alignment
• Career development prospects
• Direct involvement in outcome-oriented roles
• Competing demands (work, studies, family)
• Low institutional support and lack of follow-up from host organizations
• Limited mentoring pathways
• Lack of recognition or clarity in role contribution
Organizational Challenges and Actions
• Weak recruitment strategies
• No sustainable volunteering pathway
• Inaccessible volunteering pathways for diverse youth
• Poor alignment with local community needs
Strategies to Engage Youth in Sport for All Volunteering
Stacey Kim
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Transcript
Overview & Purpose
Facilitators & Challenges in Youth Volunteering
Strategies to Engage Youth in Sport for All Volunteering
Strategic Actions for Youth Volunteering
A Guide for Practice
DISCLAIMER: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
Overview & Purpose
The following strategies are a result of a rapid literature review research by the University of Limerick.
Goal
Screening
Definition
Volunteering refers to the act of freely providing time for the common good, through planned, proactive, and not remunerated service provision in a formal organizational setting. Sports volunteers are predominantly motivated by a shared enthusiasm for the sport, social relationships and career factors.
Facilitators & Challenges
in Youth Volunteering
Effective youth engagement begins with understanding the benefits, motivators, and barriers shaping the volunteering experience.
+INFO
Benefits for Youth and Sport Organizations
Volunteering provides youth with leadership, teamwork, and employability skills, while helping organizations strengthen social capital, promote inclusion, and build long-term community networks.
+INFO
What Motivates or Discourages Youth to Volunteer
A sense of meaning, career prospects, and social values often drive youth to volunteer. However, barriers such as time constraints, lack of mentorship, or feeling undervalued can hinder sustained participation.
+INFO
Organizational Challenges and Actions
Many organizations face challenges in attracting and retaining youth volunteers due to weak recruitment strategies, inaccessible pathways, or poor alignment with community needs. Tailored, youth-centered approaches are key to overcoming these gaps.
Strategic Actions
for Youth Volunteering
Drawn from evidence across the review, these strategies support organizations in creating inclusive, responsive, and impactful youth volunteering environments within the Sport for All movement.
Connect Locally
Value the Culture
Champion Inclusion
Prove the Impact
Align with local communities, contribute to creating cohesive communities locally and develop with them a network of volunteers.
Promote the perception of cultural value of volunteering.
Address the legitimacy of sports volunteering and its long-term impact in volunteers’ personal lives and the community.
Address the capacity to integrate people of all abilities, from different cultures and diverse backgrounds.
Support Collaboratively
Provide close collaboration and mutual support with volunteers.
A Guide for Practice
These steps help organizations design, deliver, and sustain youth engagement strategies before, during, and after volunteering experiences.
Before Engagement - Plan and Purpose
During Engagement – Equip and Empower
After Engagement – Sustain and Grow
Tailor your strategies based on the unique challenges and facilitators identified through evidence and youth insights. Effective engagement isn’t one-size-fits-all.
For Youth
For Organizational & Community
• Development of leadership, teamwork, and organizational skills • Improved employability and integration in community life
• Stronger social capital and inclusion • Long-term commitment and network-building • Reduced local disparities
Youth Motivations (Facilitators)
Youth Barriers (Challenges)
• Feeling that their contribution is meaningful • Altruism and social value alignment • Career development prospects • Direct involvement in outcome-oriented roles
• Competing demands (work, studies, family) • Low institutional support and lack of follow-up from host organizations • Limited mentoring pathways • Lack of recognition or clarity in role contribution
Organizational Challenges and Actions
• Weak recruitment strategies • No sustainable volunteering pathway • Inaccessible volunteering pathways for diverse youth • Poor alignment with local community needs