Volunteers

Who tends to volunteer and why? What causes attract certain types ofvolunteers? What motivates people to volunteer? How can volunteers be persuaded tocontinue their service? Making use of a broad range of survey information to offer adetailed portrait of the volunteer in America, Volunteers provides an importantresource for everyone who works with volunteers or is interested in their role incontemporary society.
Mark A. Musick and John Wilson addressissues of volunteer motivation by focusing on individuals' subjective states, theiravailable resources, and the influence of gender and race. In a section on socialcontext, they reveal how volunteer work is influenced by family relationships andobligations through the impact of schools, churches, and communities. They considercross-national differences in volunteering and historical trends, and close withconsideration of the research on the organization of volunteer work and theconsequences of volunteering for the volunteer.