Mainstream and Ethnic Volunteering by Korean Immigrants in the United States

Abstract

Asian immigrants accounted for one-eighth of the total U.S. population in 2009. With Asian immigrants having higher levels of education and income than average Americans, their potential contribution to American philanthropy will be even more significant. This study examines the volunteering patterns of Korean immigrants, one of the fastest growing segments of the Asian immigrant population in the United States. This study explains Korean immigrants' volunteering within ethnic and mainstream (American) organizations using the concepts of bonding and bridging social capital. The bivariate probit regression results suggest that ethnic volunteering and mainstream volunteering are generally the substitutes for each other. The findings nevertheless suggest that providing Asian immigrants' with English education and continuing education opportunities may boost their volunteering to mainstream nonprofit organizations without discouraging their volunteering for ethnic organizations.Résumé Les immigrants asiatiques représentaient un huitième de la population totale des É .U. en 2009. Le niveau d'éducation et le revenu des immigrants asiatiques étant supérieurs à ceux d'un américain moyen, leur contribution potentielle à la philanthropie en Amérique n'en est que plus importante. Cette étude examine les modalités de bénévolat des immigrants coréens, l'un des segments de population dont l'accroissement est le plus rapide parmi les immigrants asiatiques aux É tatsUnis. Cette étude utilise les concepts de cohésion et de rapprochement du capital social pour explorer le bénévolat des immigrants coréens au sein des organisations ethniques et traditionnelles (américaines). Les résultats du modèle probit à deux variables suggèrent que le bénévolat ethnique et le bénévolat traditionnel se substituent généralement l'un à l'autre. Néanmoins, les conclusions suggèrent que le fait de donner aux immigrants asiatiques une éducation anglaise ainsi que des opportunités de poursuite des études sont susceptibles d'accroître leur participation bénévole aux organisations à but non lucratif traditionnelles, sans pour autant décourager leurs efforts de bénévolat envers les organisations ethniques.Zusammenfassung 2009 machten asiatische Einwanderer ein Achtel der gesamten US-Bevölkerung aus. Da der Bildungsstand und das Einkommen asiatischer Einwanderer über dem durchschnittlicher Amerikaner liegt, nimmt ihr potentieller Beitrag zur amerikanischen Philantrophie noch an Bedeutung zu. Diese Studie untersucht die Verhaltensmuster koreanischer Einwanderer im ehrenamtlichen Bereich. Koreaner zählen zu den am schnellsten wachsenden Teilen der asiatischen eingewanderten Bevölkerung in den USA. Die Studie erläutert die ehrenamtlichen Tätigkeiten koreanischer Einwanderer bei ethnischen und generellen (amerikanischen) Organisationen, die Konzepte zur Bindung und Ü berbrückung von sozialem Kapital anwenden. Die Ergebnisse der bivariaten Probit-Regression lassen darauf schließen, dass ethnische und generelle ehrenamtliche Tätigkeiten im Allgemeinen untereinan...

Immigrant Integration Through Volunteering: The Importance of Contextual Factors

“…Schoeneberg (1985) found that the participation of immigrants in ethnic associations in West Germany helped or hindered integration, depending on the orientation of the association. However, North American studies found that immigrants who volunteered within their own ethnic congregations were simultaneously involved with mainstream organisations, thereby building both bridging and bonding social capital (e.g., Lee and Moon, 2011; Sinha et al , 2011).…”

“…Indeed, one of the frequently-reported motivations to volunteer among the general population is the desire to make new friends (Clary and Snyder, 1999). By forging social ties and social capital through volunteering, immigrants can gain access to the job market (Baert and Vujic, 2016;Lee and Moon, 2011;Manatschal, 2015), learn the host society's social norms of reciprocity and connectivity, and build trust in social and political institutions. Putnam (2000) suggests that social capital consists of 'bonding' and 'bridging' social capital.…”

Secular and religious volunteering among immigrants and natives in Denmark

“…Not surprisingly, most studies that focus on volunteering by immigrants mirror the positive effects of SES on the propensity to participate in secular volunteering (Handy and Greenspan, 2009;Sundeen, Garcia and Raskoff, 2009;Carabain and Bekkers, 2011;Lee and Moon, 2011;Sinha, Greenspan and Handy, 2011;Wang and Handy, 2014).…”

Missing Minorities: Explaining Low Migrant Blood Donation Participation and Developing Recruitment Tactics

“…Lack of knowledge can result in unreasonable fears regarding the donation of blood. Also, if the minority group has its own language, language barriers can arise and hinder blood donations of these potential donors (Polonsky et al 2013) especially as it was also found regarding volunteering for mainstream organizations of Asian immigrants in the United States (Lee and Moon 2011). With increasing assimilation to the new country, the lack of knowledge and language barriers could diminish, however, some groups, especially in big cities, live in subcultures that allow them to work, live, and communicate in their own language.…”