In the category of one thing this generation is doing right, it turns out our kids are willing to volunteer or open up their piggy banks to buy something if it supports a cause they care about. And they’re also likely to encourage their parents to do the same thing.
Teens are more likely to spend their own money to support a cause, while kids and tweens are equally split between spending their own money and asking mom or dad to spend theirs. Many of the kids and teens says they also volunteered to help various causes.
Younger kids tend to support causes close to home, such as abused animals or recycling, says Brenda Hurley, senior vice president of C&R Research in Chicago, which conducted the survey. Teens and tweens are more active in supporting programs about child abuse, poverty, equal rights, air and water pollution and homelessness.
“They hear about these things or causes from their parents, school programs, as well as the media, and they’re talking about it with their friends,” Hurley says. “It’s helping them become more aware and get involved.”
Of the more than 7,000 kids nationwide who were asked if they would be more willing to buy a product if they knew it would go to support a cause, almost two-thirds of kids said they would. What didn’t entice them to open their wallets? Celebrity endorsements.
“Only 13 percent of teens said that it would make them more likely. They said it’s the cause I care about,” Hurley says.
