This study explored older adults’ technology use patterns and attitudes toward virtual volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 22-item survey was administered to 229 volunteers in the St. Louis region who tutor children through the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program. Although most respondents are familiar with technology and expressed that they are likely to volunteer virtually, their responses varied significantly by age, education, gender, income, and school districts. Some tutors expressed that virtual volunteering may eliminate barriers to in-person volunteering, while others were concerned with establishing a personal connection with students online. These findings suggest that tutors anticipate both benefits and challenges with virtual volunteering and that efforts to engage older adults during the pandemic should factor in prior use of technology and ensure that different subgroups are not marginalized.

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This study explored older adults’ attitudes toward virtual volunteering during the COVID-19 pandemic. A 22-item survey was administered to 229 volunteers who previously worked with children through the Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring program in St. Louis. Questions focused on technology use patterns and attitudes toward virtual volunteering. Most respondents have used a computer, a smartphone, and the Internet before at home (90.3%), but 22.8% of respondents feel uncomfortable or very uncomfortable when using the Internet. Video conferencing software such as Zoom or Skype was not used before by 14.0% of the respondents, the top reasons being because they prefer other forms of communication (48.4%) or find it too difficult to keep up with technology (19.4%). If tutoring becomes virtual-only, 60.6% of the participants responded they were somewhat likely or very likely to participate, with significant variation by school districts (X2 = 21.92, p < .05, Cramer’s V = 0.33) ranging from 42.6% to 96.0% (Bonferroni post hoc p < .05). Tutors from school districts that were less likely to tutor virtually had lower levels of education and higher levels of discomfort when using the Internet. The respondents also voiced that while virtual tutoring may eliminate barriers to in-person tutoring, such as commuting to schools and inclement weather, they were concerned about establishing a personal connection with their students online. These findings suggest that tutors anticipate both benefits and challenges with virtual volunteering and efforts to engage older adults virtually should factor in prior use of technology and variations by geography.

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) represents 182 countries with a focus on animal health, animal welfare and veterinary public health. The OIE has several Collaborating Centres that support the work of the organisation. The Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e del Molise ‘Giuseppe Caporale’ (IZSAM) is the Secretariat for the OIE Collaborating Centre Network on Veterinary Emergencies (EmVetNet). In April 2020, the IZSAM initiated a COVID-19 Thematic Platform on Animal Welfare. The working group represented the EmVetNet Collaborating Centres, international institutions, veterinary associations, authorities and animal welfare organisations. Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine recruited summer research students whom catalogued over 1,200 animal welfare related reports and provided 64 report narratives for the working group. IZSAM launched the EmVetNet website (https://emvetnet.izs.it) for public and private exchange of information, materials, and guidelines related to veterinary emergencies. The EmVetNet COVID-19 Thematic Platform on Animal Welfare continues to meet to address emerging issues, strengthen the network for future emergencies, and share information with stakeholders including national Veterinary Services responding to the epidemic.