‘Payback time’: community volunteering among older adults as a transformative mechanism

Abstract

This qualitative study explores the conditions and experiences of older adults' ‘formal’ volunteering through non-profit organisations (NPOs) in Toronto from both organisational and individual perspectives. In spite of the ageing population and the need for NPOs to expand their services, the participation of Canadian seniors in community volunteering has been stagnant for 15 years. What organisational and structural supports might encourage the expansion of volunteering among this group? How do current administrative conditions impact upon senior volunteers? What do older adults expect to gain from community volunteering? The qualitative data collected through interviews, documents and participant observation are analysed using an inter-disciplinary framework that combines theories of the moral economy of ageing, adult development and transformative learning. The results include a socio-demographic profile of senior volunteers in 12 Toronto NPOs, and the administrative characteristics of the six organisations that engage the majority. It is argued that the self-help and transformative mechanisms embedded in community volunteering provide opportunities for retirees to sustain their self-esteem and sense of wellbeing, while cultivating ‘generativity’ in late adulthood. Promoting transformative learning enables community volunteering to provide meaningful roles for seniors, and promotes citizenship participation and the social economy in an ageing society.

Family health information sharing among older adults: reaching more family members

“…These perceptions were not significantly associated with the levels of FHH communication when other factors such as social relationships, familiarity, and self-efficacy were accounted for in the multivariate model. However, high levels of outcome expectations and expectancies reported by the respondents in this study are encouraging and support previous reports that older adults are concerned about the wellbeing of future generations (Narushima 2005;Okun 1994;Trheurer and Wister 2010). In fact, a number of respondents in this current study expressed their intent to talk to their family members to obtain and share FHH after completing our interviews because answering questions during the interviews made them aware of its importance.…”

“…In a previous study, older adults who participated in volunteering expressed a desire to provide a good example for future generations (Narushima 2005). Our participants also expressed their desire to share FHH in order to facilitate chronic disease prevention among their family members.…”

“…The concept of generativity, interest in contributing to the development and well-being of the society and future generations (Erikson 1982;McAdams and de St. Aubin 1992), has been increasingly considered in research concerning the health and well-being of older adults. Older adults with generative desire tend to engage in more social and productive activities (Narushima 2005;Okun 1994) that can facilitate better cognitive, physical (Adams et al 2010;Gruenewald et al 2012;Gottlieb and Gillespie 2008;Yuen et al 2008), and psychological well-being (Greenfield and Marks 2004;Lum and Lightfoot 2005;Wheeler et al 1998). These findings suggest the benefits of facilitating generative activities among older adults to enhance their wellbeing.…”

“…Older adults often express their desire to be useful and valuable to society and feel that it is their moral responsibility to provide for others and future generations (Narushima 2005;Okun 1994;Trheurer and Wister 2010). Studies have shown that those who feel low levels of social usefulness experience higher mortality, lower self-rated health (Okamoto and Tanaka 2004), and more impairment with activities of daily living (ADLs) (Grand et al 1988).…”

“Work Is Like a Therapy That Prevents Aging”

“…Unfortunately, nonprofit institutions are often unprepared to recruit and retain older volunteers for meaningful roles (Endres & Holmes, 2007). Developing institutional support for older minorities to volunteer may include administrative support (Narushima, 2005), flexibility in the types of tasks or schedules for volunteerism (Tang, MorrowHowell, & Hong, 2009), and choice in volunteer activities (Epstein & Boisvert, 2006); any of these may lead to success in tapping into the resources, skills, and knowledge that older volunteers have to offer. Also, participants' interest in volunteering for churches suggests that community-based strategies for increasing volunteerism among older adults involve mining faith-based opportunities for civic engagement.…”