Program Insights Briefs

Living to Serve: A Look at Community Service in FFA

Study Year: 2024

The brief draws on multiple sources, including a 2021 survey of 10th and 11th graders in FFA, a 2024 FFA member and agriculture student study, a survey of 386 FFA advisors about National FFA Week service, and surveys of members participating in National Days of Service.

Key Points

  • In a 2021 survey, 74% of FFA members said they volunteered in their schools or communities, and volunteering is one of members' most common activities.
  • Research links structured activities and volunteering to greater school engagement, better grades, higher self-esteem, and lower depression.
  • National FFA programming drove significant service, including 356,904 meals packaged at WLC and thousands of service hours during the National FFA Convention & Expo.
  • Living to Serve Grants awarded 426 grants and $489,575 in funding, engaging 30,197 youth volunteers for a $7,573,439 economic impact.
  • National FFA staff contributed 220 volunteer hours through blood drives, food donations, and community events.
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The FFA motto gives members 12 short words to live by as they experience the organization’s opportunities. Three of these words sum up the desire to help provide for one’s community: Living to Serve.

Volunteerism in FFA

In a 2021 survey of 10th and 11th graders in FFA, 74% of respondents who identified as FFA members said they volunteered1 in their schools or communities. A 2024 study of FFA members found that besides athletics, the activity that FFA members participate in the most is volunteering.2

Research shows that participation in structured activities and civic engagement, such as volunteering, leads to greater school engagement, which can inspire positive outcomes such as better grades, lower levels of depression, higher self-esteem, and decreased likeliness to be involved in risky behaviors. Structured activities and civic participation allow for positive interactions between youth and their peers and trusted adults, another beneficial outcome.3

Spotlighting Service in National FFA Programming

National FFA encourages students to immerse themselves in service activities through structured programming at the national and local levels.

National FFA Week (Spring 2024)

Members were challenged to serve their communities during National FFA Week.

  • 43% of surveyed advisors (N=386) said that their FFA chapters engaged in service projects during National FFA Week in 2024.
  • According to reports from seven participating FFA chapters in California, Oregon, North Dakota, Georgia, New York and Oklahoma, volunteers engaged in activities from organizing food drives to church cleanups to installing nesting tubes for duck habitats.

Washington Leadership Conference (Summer 2024)

The Washington Leadership Conference (WLC) is a five-week conference that motivates FFA members to become community change-makers.

  • Attendees at WLC participated in an on-site service project benefiting Meals of Hope. Throughout the conference, they packaged 356,904 meals.
  • 1,201 FFA members reported developing a Living to Serve plan (developed by WLC attendees that addresses a need in their home communities).

National FFA Convention & Expo (Fall 2024)

Various events held during convention week encourage service among attendees, including National Days of Service (NDoS), where participants volunteer at various host sites around Indianapolis and in the Indiana Convention Center. According to a survey of FFA members who participated in NDoS:

  • 92% found the volunteer experience personally fulfilling.
  • 92% said they were actively engaged while participating.
  • 97% felt they had a positive impact on the community or cause the site supports.
  • National Days of Service: 2,333 FFA members completed a reported 9,332 service hours.
  • On-Site Service Project: 2,111 FFA members completed 2,111 service hours, donating 2,007 woven potholders to Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana.
  • Evening Service Project: 160 FFA members completed 160 volunteer hours, donating 202 celebration boxes to St. Vincent de Paul.

Living to Serve Grants

When barriers exist, FFA members can still live to serve with the help of semester- or yearlong grants and mini-grants:

  • 426 grants awarded (90 more than last year)
  • $489,575 total amount of grant funding provided to all awardees ($63,160 more than last year)
  • 30,197 youth volunteers, including FFA members and non-FFA youth (4,798 more than last year)
  • 225,964 youth service hours
  • 806 community partners (325 more than last year)
  • $7,573,439 economic impact (calculated using the Independent Sector’s value of a volunteer hour, $33.49)

Walking the Talk: Service Among National FFA Staff

From Jan. 1, 2023, to the present, National FFA staff:

  • Participated in the Gr8 Pasta Push in 2023 and 2024, benefiting Second Helpings in Indianapolis, donating 139 pounds of pasta to be used in meals delivered all over the city.
  • Hosted four blood drives in 2023 and 2024 to address critical blood shortages in Indiana.
  • Donated clothing, professional clothing, purses and hygiene items to local Indianapolis charities.
  • Volunteered in the Indiana FFA Pavilion annually at the Indiana State Fair.

Staff completed 220 volunteer hours, and 30% of staff used their eight volunteer hours.

Footnotes