Rising volunteering was an Indian summer, not a renewal

Evidence

In short, the increase in volunteering in recent decades is concentrated in the one generation most resistant to civic disengagement. The growth of volunteerism in the face of church and club debility is mostly attributable to a generation predisposed to civic responsibility and enjoying enhanced leisure and vitality. In the swollen cohort of boomers born between 1950 and 1965, by contrast, volunteerism is ebbing, particularly if it involves community projects. In that sense, the growth of volunteering in recent years is real, but not really an exception to the broader generational decline in social capital. At century’s end we were enjoying not a springtime of volunteerism, but an Indian summer. — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 430

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors the generation-cohort argument running through the whole book and in chapter 14. — connects to: Declining civic volunteering was not offset by volunteers shifting to other organizations. — Robert Putnam, Bowling Alone: America’s Declining…, 35; Physical volunteering declined as older volunteers cannot replace it — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 427

Broader Connections

• Physical volunteering declined as older volunteers cannot replace it #expands (0.75) — Robert D. Putnam, Bowling Alone The Collapse and Revival…, 427