Young Adults Favor Buying Local Over Giving, Volunteering in Pandemic Response

Buying local and donating goods and services were the most common actions young adults said they had taken to help others during the first month of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey. Donating to a charity was far less common, and volunteering activities were the least common.

The survey is the second in a planned four-part series from Cause & Social Influence tracking how young adults ages 18 to 30 have been responding to the coronavirus pandemic. The latest installment found that 26 percent of young adults had started or significantly increased purchases of local products and services, while 24 percent said they had donated goods or services. Only 12 percent said they had made a charitable donation, and 6 percent said they had volunteered in person since the pandemic was declared. Another 6 percent said they had volunteered online.

The survey was conducted April 17. It gathered responses from a representative sample of 1,190 young American adults.

The most common response to the question “What actions have you taken in the last three weeks” to help others was “nothing,” with 33 percent replying so.

Among young adults who said they donated money to a cause or organization, 34 percent said they had given to groups working to overhaul health care, while 26 percent said they had given to food banks. Among young adults who said they had volunteered either in-person or virtually, 31 percent said they had given time to animal-welfare or animal-rights groups, while 26 percent said they had given time to climate-change groups.