The Millennial Mindset: 'Looking For A Way To Serve'
BOSTON (CBS) - Millennials have a generous heart.
According to the 2015 Millennial Impact Report compiled by the research agency Achieve, 75-percent of Americans between the ages of 20 and 34 donated to causes and 63-percent gave their time to volunteer.
Read: 'The Millennial Mindset' Series
These numbers dispel complaints that the Millennial Generation has no interest in giving back.
Massachusetts Congressman Joe Kennedy III, 35, spent two years in the Dominican Republic as a Peace Corps volunteer. He worked to bring better pay to the community.
"I loved it," he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030. "It was a really hard thing to do. I still keep in touch with the Dominicans that I worked with down there. They accepted me in, treated me as part of their family and community and I will forever be grateful to them."
Kennedy thinks his generation gets a bad rap.
"Millennials, I think, are really looking for a way to serve and a way to channel that energy to serve," he says.
Thirty-four-year-old Jeremy Pallai has done that.
An avid fisherman, Pallai has written a children's book about striped bass called "Fish on the Move." He donates part of the proceeds to fishery preservation.
Pallai is the Director of New Business Models at Vistaprint, the billion dollar company that provides marketing materials to millions of small businesses worldwide.
Vistaprint recently moved its U.S. headquarters to Waltham and Pallai takes advantage of the array of offerings there - a game room, a free snacks kitchen and a gym.
"I use the gym a couple days a week, which is fantastic. On Friday last week, we actually had a sundae party which had a block party format to learn what others are doing. There is a lot of creativity and fun to be had," Pallai told WBZ.
He adds that it's not all about so-called millennial perks. He finds energy and hard work among his peers too.
"From my perspective, you're dealing with a group that's highly educated, that's super entrepreneurial and they ask tough questions and they're looking for a lot out of their careers and they want to make an impact on the community and the business and hopefully the world."
In part 9, we'll explore the music divide between Boomers and Millennials.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Mary Blake reports
