OLDER PEOPLE AS VOLUNTEERS

What can you gain by involving older people as volunteers? Think about the following contributions they could bring to your organisation:

Skills: Older people have spent a life-time acquiring and perfecting skills. Some will have technical skills such as accounting or law, (ideal for the role of a treasurer). Some will be experienced managers and administrators (a possible Chairperson or committee member), and others will have people skills (an ideal Volunteer Coordinator or fundraiser).

Maturity: "Been there…read the book…got the t-shirt." They have the ability - through their own life experiences - to understand the problems of others. This can be particularly useful when offering face-to-face support.

Loyalty: Research shows that older people contribute more hours than any other age group, and are more likely to be content with and committed long-term to their voluntary work than younger volunteers. For example, a survey in Australia 1995 found that 76% of volunteers aged 65 years and over had been committed to their role for ten years or more.

Availability & Flexibility: Retired people have an average of 80 hours free time per week. This enables them to fit in better with your needs.

Focus: In a study of older volunteers across 25 organisations, many organisations confirmed that older volunteers take something on and see it through, pace themselves and can ultimately achieve more.

Perspective: Older volunteers bring a community perspective.

Value for Money: Surveys have shown that most organisations get between £3 and £8 worth of unpaid work for every £1 they invest in volunteers.

Older people are seldom asked to volunteer, but why?

Sometimes paid officers are threatened by the high skill level or experience of older volunteers. Or sometimes we just don't think to ask. Do you recognise any of the following assumptions?

- Older volunteers can only carry out undemanding tasks (like making the tea).
- Older volunteers can - and only want to - work with older people.
- Older people are too frail and ill.
- Older volunteers deter younger people from volunteering, and we need younger volunteers more.
- Older volunteers only want to do the things they have done throughout their lives.
- We need to set a compulsory retirement age for all.
- It is difficult to find insurance for the older person (particularly when driving is involved).

When stated as bluntly as this it is easy to see our foolishness. Clearly, given the right support, age should not be a deterrent in a volunteer's ability to carry out most tasks. Poor health is not predominantly a result of age, but of lifestyle - there are plenty of young 'couch potatoes'.

Sometimes, however, older people turn down the offer of voluntary work. This can be due to economic factors, such as not being able to afford the out of pocket expenses involved in a voluntary job, especially fares or lunches, or not having access to a car.

Sometimes older volunteers are afraid they won't be able to work with some groups, such as young people. Or they may have taken on the mores of society and adopted a passive role, having lost confidence in their skills after they retired.

What motivates the older volunteer?

Sometimes it is difficult to imagine that anyone not playing or participating in your sport could possibly want to volunteer their time. However, there are a wide variety of reasons why people volunteer. Research and consultation has identified some of the things that motivate older people to volunteer:

- Being asked! One of the main reasons fewer older people are recorded as volunteers is because nobody asked them! And one of the main reasons why people are recruited as volunteers is because they found out about the opportunities because someone talked to them.
- The desire to help others or give back to the community.
- The desire to do something worthwhile. ·
- Personal satisfaction - volunteering gives a sense of purpose and enhances self-respect.
- Social contact - studies have shown that the majority of older volunteers would miss the social aspects of volunteering most once it has stopped.
- The opportunity to try something different.
- The opportunity to use a lifetime of experiences and skills rather than 'waste' them.