Investigation of youth center volunteers motivations for participation in volunteering activities under The Ministry of Youth and Sports

Youth work and volunteering activities are becoming widespread in our society day by day. Volunteering activities are organized by many groups such as public institutions and organizations, local governments, non-governmental organizations, universities and youth societies in our country. These volunteering activities are of great importance in the fight against natural disasters and epidemics, which are increasing in the world and in our country. In our research, it is aimed to examine the factors affecting the participation of Youth Center volunteers under the Ministry of Youth and Sports in volunteering activities according to various demographic data. The universe of the research consists of young volunteers participating in volunteer activities in Youth Centers affiliated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The sample group of the research consists of volunteer youth (in Elazig and Malatya provinces) who participated in volunteering activities in Youth Centers affiliated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports during the Covid-19 pandemic period in 2020-2021, and it consists of a total of 347 volunteer youth, 151 men and 196 women. In the study, the "Volunteer Motivation Inventory" (GME) consisting of 44 items developed by McEwin and Jacobsen-D'Arcy (2002) and adapted into Turkish by Çevik (2012) and a personal information form developed by the researcher were used. In the research, descriptive survey model, one of the quantitative research methods, was used. In the evaluation of the study data, firstly, the normality test was performed to see whether the data obtained from the sub-dimensions of the scale fulfilled the assumption of normality. Then, "Independent Sample t-Test" for dependent groups and "One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)" for multiple differences between groups were used to reveal whether the research group differed according to the variables. and "TUKEY" tests were used. In addition, "Correlation Test" was conducted to examine the relationship between the sub-dimensions of the scale used in the research. When we examine the results of the pearson correlation analysis showing the relationship between the sub-dimensions of the Voluntary Motivation Inventory; It was concluded that there was a statistically significant positive correlation between all sub-dimensions of the "Volunteer Motivation Inventory". When evaluated in general terms, it can be said that the sub-dimensions of "RME" have positive and highly significant relationships between each other. It was concluded that marital status, education status and income status of the participants did not affect volunteering motivation, gender did not significantly affect volunteering activities, those who directly followed the youth center had higher participation in volunteering activities and their volunteer parents highly supported participation in volunteering activities (97.4%). Keywords: Youth, Youth Center, Voluntarily, Volunteering, Motivation