I would ask you to consider the following quotes about human interactions and networking, called civic engagement and social capital by educators. We will then evaluate these concepts and how they apply to volunteering and the health of those who participate.

Joining and participating in one group cuts your odds of dying over the next year in half. Joining two groups cuts it by three quarters.

We’re not experiencing a Springtime of volunteering, but an Indian Summer, propped up by our nation’s seniors — who have been more civic throughout their lives.

Each 10 minutes of additional commuting time cuts all forms of social capital by 10 percent–10 percent less church-going, 10 percent fewer club meetings, 10 percent fewer evenings with friends, etc.

Civic engagement and volunteering is the new hybrid health club for the 21st century that’s free to join and miraculously improves both your health and the community’s through the work performed and the social ties built.

These factoids are quoted from The Saguaro Seminar, Civic Engagement in America, Harvard/Kennedy School.

http://www.hks.harvard.edu/saguaro/socialcapitalprimer.htm

Social Capital is what is gained when people exercise their human network or as we used to call it, use “hook ups” to get either others to help with a project or locate something of value needed for an objective. Many military individuals were sent out to locate a “hook up” to get a much needed part, promising to return the favor in the future if he could, thus allowing a machine repair when the needed part was located through the network when the proper military channels were either inadequate or money was not available. Social capital is not confined to reciprocation of mutual aid or favors, but this is certainly one area where it thrives.

For historical perspective, this situation mentioned above happened way too often when we were building a 600 ship Navy during the cold war. Mechanics and electricians were frequently forced into “out of the box” part recovery efforts when money and parts were unavailable, yet the command structure wanted to get underway, no matter what. Without hook ups, many Navy ships would not have set sail on time in the 1980′s. Barter was common, with the most valuable trade good being a 5 pound can of coffee for many parts or services which were otherwise unsupported by the regular supply system.

Elaborate  systems and networks were formed which often spanned entire careers as enlisted sailors were promoted and transferred. The term social capital was not universal back then, but it was in use all the same. Connections with people who could provide services or parts were a necessary part of being a senior enlisted worker on both surface ships and submarines in my experience. Social connections could produce effects which the regular system could not or would not.

The person who could get the hook up through his network would now be considered to have high social capital and a raised status among his peers and his superiors. Their status raised as they were able to help their group function in an often defective world where money was not available and hook ups were the only commodity in use.

To be clear, social capital has been around for eons but the term social capital as it apples to civic engagement studies is relatively new. It took more than just showing up with coffee to get things in many cases, you had to know someone. You needed a network. Social capital is easier to evaluate in the civilian community today but it has had many uses in all of aspects of society, where ever their was a need.

Social Capital as it applied to civic engagement and volunteer groups was a central premise of the book, “Bowling Alone”, by Robert D. Putnam, a Harvard Professor. He showed through data analysis that many volunteer groups which had thrived after the WWII years were in sharp decline in members, which resulted in declines for the help and aid given to the charities that relied on the volunteer groups for so much support. Groups like the Freemasons, Elks, Moose, Lions, and many others were part of his over all studies in declining memberships.

The secondary value of this concept of networking and social capital with regard to volunteering on an individual basis is not only the ability to get things done but also the health benefits to those involved. The bottom line is that many studies have verified that their is strong evidence for the positive health benefits for those individuals who exercise passion in their networks and their volunteering. Even expanding your social network has beneficial health benefits some studies have shown.

Another positive aspect of social capital is the ability of social scientists to measure it. The Saguaro Seminar has bench marked survey results from 2000 and again from 2006 on the same communities, with demonstrated changes and trends shown in the final evaluation. This kind of data analysis demonstrates the impact that social capital and civic engagement can have on individuals and communities.

Volunteering produces many health benefits for the individual but also produces, when practiced by a passionate volunteer a much larger effect than most people would believe. This win-win benefit between the individual and the group seeing the volunteering can’t be ignored.

This is the ideal of the empowered volunteer. When an empowered volunteer embraces the passion for the group and shares the news with the world, many from that previously uninformed world will want to participate. Thus all involved benefit and everybody wins.

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People living in higher socioeconomic areas are likely to see a wider diversity of bird species in their parks, according to Paige S. Warren, who holds a joint appointment as a research scientist in the Department of Biology at Virginia Tech and the Center for Environmental Studies at Arizona State University. Their work is part of the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long Term Ecological Research Project.

While this is interesting, it is not in itself a reason to volunteer or seek volunteer opportunities just to potentially raise your status, but a result of higher status individuals preferences in the way they maintain their surrounding environment outside their dwelling.

Another example of health related social economic status inequality is found in a study by The National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids, May 27, 2004. Meg Gallogly reports that tobacco is the leading cause of death in the United States, killing more than 400,000 Americans every year.  Another 8 million Americans suffer from a smoking-caused disease, disability, and other serious health problems.

From this same study Gallogly continues, “thanks to the tobacco industry’s targeted marketing efforts, lower-income and less educated populations are particularly burdened by tobacco use – low-income people smoke more, suffer more, spend more, and die more from tobacco use. Smoking is directly correlated with income level and years of education. Since the release of the first Surgeon General’s Report on smoking in 1964, smoking has become ever more concentrated among populations with lower incomes and fewer years of education. Whereas the highest income Americans once smoked at levels even greater than the poorest, they now smoke at barely half the rate of those of lowest income.”

These studies suggests that for the highly motivated lower SES persons (often thought of as poor) who want to climb the social status ladder through education, the potential for liberation is possible. Higher education is one method to increasing one’s status, and therefore increasing one’s potential health.

In another study we find the Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health  reporting “a growing body of evidence indicates that socioeconomic status (SES) is a strong predictor of health.  Better health is associated with having more income, more years of education, and a more prestigious job, as well as living in neighborhoods where a higher percentage of residents have higher incomes and more education.”

The mission of the Network on Socioeconomic Status and Health is to enhance the understanding of the mechanisms by which socioeconomic factors affect the health of individuals and their communities. Furthermore, the Network reported “With a few exceptions, disease is more prevalent and life expectancy shorter the lower one is in the SES hierarchy.”

In another example of social capital in action, the State of Utah has enacted The Social Capital Formation Act of 1996 as part of welfare reform. The purpose of the Social Capital Formation Act is to promote the availability of social capital in Utah. The act defines social capital as “the value provided to the state by civic organizations.” This means volunteers of America or at least in Utah are targeted for support! This program is promoting volunteering in civic groups as a solution, which is something that the empowered volunteer will hopefully take country wide.

According to the Utah statute, “using social capital, clients of and applicants for services . . . may receive a wide array of services and supports that cannot be provided by state government alone.” The act encourages government efforts to strengthen civic agencies and establishes a process whereby DWS will assess individual applicant’s needs and may refer them to civic agencies. In the act, however, the Legislature also “recognizes the constitutional limits of state government to sustain civic institutions that provide social capital.”

Furthermore, the Utah report stated that, “President George W. Bush’s recent initiative on faith based and community organizations appears to have many similarities to Utah’s social capital law. The federal government may become more involved in this area, but the federal program is not yet well developed.”

A significant source of vital information on social capital can be found on the  Saguaro Web site at http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/saguaro. The Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America is an ongoing initiative of Professor Robert D. Putnam at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. “The project focuses on expanding what we know about our levels of trust, social connectedness, and community engagement and focuses on strategies to increase this engagement.”

Furthermore, this study has quantified many aspects of social capital. It is a study of fraternal and civic groups in Indiana, along with other social capital achieving groups. This study would be beneficial to all empowered volunteers who wish to understand more about this field and the implications involved. I highly recommend this information be included in any SWOT analysis for groups, which can find correlations with which to work with.

Lastly, one of the many ways someone can on an individual basis attempt to improve their status and their social capital is through joining groups which help to improve their members as well as creating platforms for their mutual benefit. An example, one of many that could be listed is the group Toastmasters International. This group promotes the individual experience of public speaking, something which is usually not taught in America’s high schools to any extent. This group not only promotes public speaking, they have a highly structured system that teaches the subject, with many opportunities for practicing the art!

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Civic groups are great places to build social capital

Components of social capital are called by many other names by the public. In business the term “hook-up” is used interchangeably with “favor”, as they are also in the military. This concept refers to someone who is socially connected with others, often called “networked” in modern terminology. This person is often able to circumvent conventional channels in a bureaucracy of red tape and procure the desired meeting or document or whatever the recipient is looking for, often faster than the proper process would allow. The recipient is then thought to “owe” the benefactor a favor, a favor that can be held for a future need.

However social capital is much more than just an individual who can make things happen in return for favors saved for a future need. Someone who is high in social capital is not just a social concierge. Social capital refers to the total value obtained by individuals and their social networks and the resulting levels of potentially available hook-ups that might be traded between groups or individuals.

The potential benefits of high social capital reported by Robert Putnam in his book, Bowling Alone include increased income and longer life expectancy.

Conversely the loss of social capital to a community is directly related to lower educational performance and child suicide. Putnam also makes a case for lower social capital in a neighborhood being directly tied to crime rates as well as reflecting additional risks to an individuals health. Clearly the need for raising the communities social capital, through volunteering as well as where to volunteer are factors that those who want to help communities should factor into any future developments.

This means that people who are socially connected and therefore are able to reciprocate favors with others, through volunteer work or another means when they need or want something done or solved receive as a benefit from the effort to maintain this kind of network higher life expectancy, better health overall, an increased likelihood of maintaining a sharper mind as they age, and benefits to their families and associated intertwined groups.

This is  one reason for people to say, why volunteer? Because you can benefit in so many ways, that’s why. Health, longer life, benefits to the mind, and stress release from helping others are just some of the benefits the studies show are realistic.

What is social capital? According to the Saguaro Seminar started by Robert Putnam, the central premise of social capital is that social networks have value. Furthermore, social capital refers to the collective value of all “social networks” [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other ["norms of reciprocity"].

Reciprocity is a word closely associated with hook-ups and favors within a context of mutual needs between individuals or groups. This is what was once thought of as necessary if one needed to deal with a union or city hall, having someone who could guide the unknowing individual through the pitfalls of bureaucracy during a period where time may be of the essence was worth their weight in gold. After all, if the individual did not have a reason to hurry the process involved then they could afford to wait and it would not be necessary to call in a favor.

Social capital can be used for good or for ill. Criminals can have social capital between themselves as exemplified by gang loyalty, which clearly benefits the criminal members at the expense of society as a whole. This fits the definition of social capitol but the resulting loss to society is still reprehensible. A politician using his or her high social capital and networking skills to call in favors to influence a business contract awarded illegally also fits social capital as defined, but the impact on society is still negative.

To look at social capital another way, people are connected together by groups and subgroups. There is a theory that we are only a few connections away from anyone on earth. This has been demonstrated by several studies using an unknown individual who must network to hookup with a famous individual, usually a person who is hard to meet or contact, often in another country or some other difficulty involved in reaching the target individual. People with high social capital are much more likely to be able to provide a person who knows a person who can reach the target individual. People with low social capital, or are not as networked find locating such a difficult to reach person much harder to accomplish with out a large network.

The findings by the studies, the Saguaro Seminar in particular, and Harvard Professors Putnam and Skocpol along with others in this field reflect that it is desirable from many perspectives to have high social capital. You will be more likely to make more money than a person with lower social capital, as well live a healthier life, live a longer life, and have a more loving relationship with a partner and family members, better chances of retaining a sharper memory, and also reduce the potential for decreased aging related mental acuity.

If a person needs a favor, possessing high social capital gives them a much better chance of locating a person who is willing to help them with finding a person who is able to help them. The act of helping someone who needs it is also associated with benefits similar to those already listed.

Social capital is in action between individuals and groups involved in community projects, church related activities, ice cream socials, group meetings for political candidates, marches for protesting a position of a group, clubs observing and counting birds, or even a conservation group saving pheasants located on a local farmers unused land.

All groups, which have members meet face to face as a group, promote a cause that allows individuals to generate social ties and interconnectedness with others, and who demonstrate social responsibility by providing a positive impact outside their own members can be said to have a potential for high social capital.

Volunteering in a fraternal, civic, or veterans groups and actively participating in the goals of the group has the capacity to increase an individuals social capital. Using groups to increase your networking capacity and further your civic engagement certainly helps your social capital. You can’t know too many good people when you find you need to get things done which only your social connections can help you with. Connections are the way things get done in the volunteer world in many cases. How up to date and engaged are your connections?

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