When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in September, it sparked an outpouring of kid-generated fund-raising efforts for the storm victims.

In the past month, thousands of children across the country have collected their pennies, sold Mardi Gras beads, donated their baby-sitting money, sold lemonade, and held concerts -- raising millions of dollars for relief efforts.

These fund-raisers have ranged from the basic to the creative:

Students at a Pembroke Pines, Fla., elementary school raised $28,000 by selling baked goods at a bake sale and collecting money door-to-door.

In Bedford, Ohio, students at the high school raised more than $10,000 for victims of Hurricane Katrina by paying to camp out on their varsity football field in an outline of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

And students at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville donated prom gowns and other supplies so that the annual homecoming dance in Biloxi, Miss., could go on as scheduled. Franklin students also held an art auction to raise money to help Katrina victims.

The thousands of kid-sponsored fund-raisers -- similar to the ones after last year's tsunami and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- are no surprise to Steve Culbertson, president and CEO of Youth Service America, the umbrella organization for youth service groups around the nation.

"Young people are volunteering at record rates,'' he said. "This is an amazing generation of young people, and I think these Katrina-related efforts are an example of that.''

Dan Horgan, executive director of Pittsburgh Cares, a group that connects people -- including youths -- with volunteer opportunities, added: "I think our generation of young people is definitely much more engaged in the community.''

Studies confirm that this is a service-oriented generation of young people. For example, more than 83 percent of college freshmen reported in 2004 that they did volunteer work during their last year of high school, up from 66 percent in 1989, according to a study by the Education Research Institute at the University of California at Los Angeles.

More than 80 percent of U.S. high schools offer some kind of service club as an after-school activity. Meanwhile, half of all high schools and one-third of all elementary schools have a formal service learning program connected to the curriculum, Mr. Culbertson said.

Maryland is the only state that requires students to earn a certain number of volunteer hours to graduate from high school, but a growing number of school districts require, or at least encourage, community service.

Young people cite "being asked'' as the main reason motivating them to volunteer, followed closely by the fact that "it makes me feel good,'' according to a 2002 study by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement.

Experts cite a variety of other reasons for the increase in volunteer activities among the generation of kids born after 1982. Some say that young people now are connected to the world and its problems in a more intimate way through the Internet and 24-hour news channels, and that this has bred a new sense of purpose in them.

"They want to help out in their community, and this is a more direct way of affecting their community than voting,'' said Mark Hugo Lopez, , an economics professor at the University of Maryland and CIRCLE's research director.

Wendy Wheeler, president of the Innovation Center for Community and Youth Development in Takoma Park, Md., added that "thanks to technology, young people can be active in connecting with others. They are much more aware of the connections with other parts of the world than previous generations.

"They also have ways to engage with others that weren't available before. They can use Internet petitions, online fund-raisers and blogs to get engaged for the common good.''

Other experts note that young people now are more often viewed as "assets'' who can help solve problems. "The idea that young people are the leaders of tomorrow is really a foolish one," Mr. Culbertson said. "We know that young people have great value today.''

The research also shows that the amount of time spent volunteering drops in college and beyond as people get busy establishing themselves in careers. But a 2002 study by Independent Sector underlines the importance of youth volunteering by noting that nearly 67 percent of adult volunteers did volunteer activities as kids.

In addition, those who volunteered as young people give more to charities as adults than those who didn't volunteer. As a result, Mr. Culbertson and others see youth service as a "critical pipeline'' for volunteer efforts and charitable giving.

"That's why this [youth service] is so important. It keeps taxes down, it keeps government from having to manage every single problem, it keeps a robust non-profit sector alive, and, frankly, it keeps civic engagement going,'' Mr. Culbertson said.

He added that he believes many adults who tapered off their youth volunteer efforts while they were getting settled in careers eventually will return to service activities.

"Service is addicting, especially when it's practiced from childhood onward,'' Mr. Culbertson said.

Some experts, however, point out that studies also show the rise in youth volunteering reflects an increase in occasional volunteer activities, not regular service work.

"This suggests an episodic nature to their volunteering, perhaps reflecting their graduation requirements or the need to engage in a volunteer activity to prepare for college,'' said Mr. Lopez.

"I think these factors are important, but we do not know exactly how important,'' Mr. Lopez added.

But Ms. Wheeler doesn't believe that "resume padding'' for college applications and required volunteer work can totally account for the big jump in youth volunteer activities over the past two decades.

"The whole idea of using volunteering as resume padding certainly is nothing new. And young people know that mandatory service learning isn't volunteering,'' Ms. Wheeler said.

Mr. Culbertson added that "it's not surprising that service and other forms of civic engagement are valued as part of a student's college preparation. Students with college aspirations are likely to be more successful applicants if they volunteer in high school.''

Bill Davis, who is active in youth services in Toledo, Ohio, and runs the popular Toledo ZOOTeen volunteer program, noted that there is "a lot of debate in the field about whether it is good or bad'' for schools to require students to do volunteer work.

"It's probably a little bit of both,'' Mr. Davis said. "For those inclined to service, it's a good opportunity to get started. For those who aren't really interested, however, it's like a seventh-grade math class -- it's not a life-changing event.''

Mr. Davis also noted that kids who volunteer on an occasional basis, such as those who are just doing it to meet requirements, often find themselves doing "grunt'' work, which doesn't necessarily endear volunteer work to them.

But ensuring that kids have quality volunteer activities that really engage them requires organizations using youth volunteers to put in lots of time to set up such activities, Mr. Davis said. Therefore, kids who volunteer more hours are more likely to get more interesting volunteer assignments.

"It really puts the burden on the organization,'' he added. "It doesn't always happen.''

That's where organizations like Pittsburgh Cares come in, since they try to package several volunteer activities each month that kids and adults can just plug into.

"It's a simple way to get kids connected with volunteering,'' Mr. Horgan said.