Youth culture is more than iPods and Facebook. Today's teens and young adults volunteer more than previous generations' teens, double the youth volunteer rate of the 1980s, according to the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Organizers at area schools, churches and charities also have seen an increase in young volunteers. They cite reasons ranging from more teens acting altruistically and a feeling of civic responsibility to youths who are trying to meet school requirements and enhance their college applications.

Alexis Brunk, 18, said she and her peers see community service as something they should do that's also fun.

"It's not like it's dorky," she said.

Alexis, a Lakeside High School senior, usually volunteers with children or organizations that help children. She spent her summer volunteering at the Columbia County Foundation for Children and at the Children's Resource Center and has coached 4- to 6-year-olds in soccer.

Ebony Wells, 16, a Harlem High School sophomore, collected toys recently with the Columbia County Youth Leadership program. She has been involved in several volunteer activities through the program.

"Putting a smile on people's faces -- it's worth your time," she said.

The need is out there, and that drives her to volunteer, she said.

That has been the case nationally, too. The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and natural disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita were motivators for teens to volunteer, said Kevin Cramer, the deupty director of research and policy development for the Corporation for National and Community Service.

The corporation is a public-private group that urges volunteerism across the nation and is responsible for AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and Learn and Serve America.

About 34 percent of teenagers start volunteering through their church or temple.

Jonathan Richardson, the minister to youths and young adults at Tabernacle Baptist Church, said he first noticed more teens becoming involved in community service three or four years ago.

"A lot of the youths are troubled by the condition they see their peers in," he said.

They see those who don't have what they have and so want to inspire others.

"They seem to ask that 'Why?' question a lot," he said.

One of his church youths spearheaded a series of lectures to try to improve the community. Others have visited the Youth Detention Center and tutored younger students.

The church and the community are interwoven.

"The church really wants to reach out, because without the community, there is no church," he said.

School-based groups account for 18 percent of teen volunteers.

At the Academy of Richmond County, the International Baccalaureate program diploma requires at least 150 hours of service, said Charlie Tudor, the program's dean.

Students have been involved in Golden Harvest Food Bank's It's Spooky to be Hungry food drive, Invisible Children and other programs.

"We try to modify our behaviors and create in our kids that lifelong volunteerism," Mr. Tudor said.

Tammy Jackson, the outreach manager at Golden Harvest, said more teenagers have been helping out.. Some come in to fulfill community service hours that are required by various organizations, she said. That requirement seems to be more common in the past five or six years, she said.

Though the teens might be there because they have to be, she contends that they'll be more inclined to volunteer and donate later because of the experience. Until students show up, they might not know that the soup kitchen serves 250 people every day, including children.

"It really opens their eyes to the need," Ms. Jackson said.

When the teens become established in their careers as adults, she said, they will be more discerning in choosing charities to support, because they will be better informed.

Ebony is already learning to fit volunteering into her schedule: She is on the basketball team and is active in various clubs, including Interact (a community service-oriented group), and church.

"There is time," Ebony said. "You just have to be willing to find it."

Reach Sarah Day Owen at (706) 823-3223 or sarah.owen@augustachronicle.com.