While students from New Zealand received widespread praise for their volunteering efforts in the wake of the earthquake that struck Christchurch, one American student community is concerned that volunteering is becoming a female dominated extra-curricular activity.

Writing on Hillsdale College’s student website, Shannon Odell has uncovered a lack of involvement from male students in the institute’s thriving volunteering scene.

Coordinated through the volunteering society GOAL, (Great Opportunities for Assistance and Leadership), Hillsdale offers 26 different programmes for community service.

However, GOAL director, Michele Philbrook laments a lack of men getting involved in the volunteer programmes, particularly in those where disadvantaged boys would benefit from male role models. Philbrook claims that the extra enthusiasm of female students can be explained in part by their more caring nature.

Kyle Forti, one of GOAL’s student directors, says that his experience of volunteering has helped him to grow initiative and gratefulness, and others should follow suit to help them develop into natural male role models.

For Forti, male students need encouragement to open themselves up to the experience: “Men tend to be narrow-minded and self-centred. They don’t think broadly enough to be able to see the needs that have to be met”.

Mitch Roman, a senior and student director of the Boy Scouts of America GOAL programme, agrees: “Guys don’t initially see volunteering as a gratifying or glamorous social outlet. They want to be more involved in leadership opportunities and resume boosters.”

For the directors of GOAL, volunteering is a means to help those in greatest need and imperative to building a strong community. In return, volunteers can learn much about themselves and those around them.

Looking to the future, Roman recognises the value of rallying male volunteers by emphasising the community aspect. Past experience has found that male students show more enthusiasm when volunteering is undertaken as a group activity.

While Hillsdale is only a microcosm of volunteering culture, the issue of sex is an interesting aspect of student community service.

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