Volunteering as a Strategy for Combatting Social Isolation

Crittenden, Jennifer

doi:10.1891/9780826146991.0009

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Nearly all of the study participants self-identified as African American. This is notable as research suggests that many African American older adults experience barriers to volunteering, including a lack of reimbursement for travel and a need for flexible scheduling (Crittenden, 2018). Our teleconference training overcomes both of these barriers; there was no need for travel and the volunteers were able to schedule their own time to volunteer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Process and outcomes of telephone reassurance program training for older adult volunteers

Lee

Fields

Cassidy

et al. 2020

Educational Gerontology

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The purpose of this study was to examine the experience of Senior Companions with telephone reassurance program training delivered via Zoom and the feasibility of using teleconferencing as a platform for training older adult volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Volunteers were recruited from a local Senior Companion Program. We assessed training enrollment and participation rates. We also examined the overall participant experience with the program training by asking structured/semi-structured questions and analyzed the data using content analysis. The average age of the volunteers was 72.5 (n=20). During the first recruitment, 39 Senior Companions expressed their interest in the program. As a result, 20 out of 39 volunteers (51.3%) successfully completed the teleconference training (18 joined over the phone & 2 joined online). Findings from this pilot study suggest that the teleconferencing training was feasible for older adult volunteers and the volunteers discussed that the program training would benefit and support their volunteer roles. The findings of this study provide insight for gerontological researchers and educators related to potential strategies for completing research and training in the midst of COVID-19. The use of teleconferencing training that incorporates best practices for older adults' learning may offer promise for the potential scalability and sustainability of volunteer trainings during and after COVID-19.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Process and outcomes of telephone reassurance program training for older adult volunteers

Lee

Fields

Cassidy

et al. 2020

Educational Gerontology

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“…Carson (1999) cautioned that a failure to value informal volunteering as high may unfairly disregard the participation of those racial and ethnic groups or nationalities more likely to engage in informal volunteering. Informal volunteering by older adults of color is often not recognized and excluded from official counts (Crittenden, 2019). Unpicking the demographics of participation in informal volunteering in more detail is therefore covered next.…”

Section: Informal Volunteering: Problems Of Definition and Its Status...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…and "What relation should informal volunteering have to policy?" It is argued that with policy practitioners and nonprofit researchers focusing on formal volunteering, the activities of those people who are more likely to participate informally are rendered "invisible" (Crittenden, 2019). As these individuals often come from disadvantaged or discriminated against communities (Egerton & Mullan, 2008;J.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…H. Smith, 1995). Drawing on evidence mainly from the case of the United Kingdom, this article uses sociological theory and empirical research from working-class feminist scholars of class and community life to critique this lack of attention through asking three critical questions: “How are boundaries drawn around different forms of nonpaid work, and whom do these boundaries benefit?” “Whose purpose is served by maligning everyday care or not thinking of it as ‘work’?” and “What relation should informal volunteering have to policy?” It is argued that with policy practitioners and nonprofit researchers focusing on formal volunteering, the activities of those people who are more likely to participate informally are rendered “invisible” (Crittenden, 2019). As these individuals often come from disadvantaged or discriminated against communities (Egerton & Mullan, 2008; J.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Informal Volunteering, Inequality, and Illegitimacy

Dean

2021

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

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This article argues that informal volunteering (the unstructured giving of one’s time to help friends, neighbors, or community) has been ignored or understudied within research and policy. With data frequently showing higher rates of informal volunteering among women, people of color, working-class communities, and other often discriminated against groups and qualitative research demonstrating the value of informal volunteering within poorer communities, such positioning serves to reproduce dominant narratives around volunteering, reinforcing social inequalities. Using Bourdieusian critical theory from largely U.K.-based working-class feminist scholars, this article contributes to the nonprofit literature by showing how such a formulation adds to the legitimacy of middle-class cultures and delegitimizes working-class ones, especially at the current neoliberal conjuncture where volunteering experiences are encouraged to be used as a tool of distinction and employability. However, the article cautions against conceptualizing informal volunteering within existing formal volunteering frameworks, as doing so may further hollow out community life.

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“…Another possibility for this result may relate to racial differences in informal volunteering engagement and the health burden associated with it. Often unrecognised and excluded from official counts (Crittenden, 2019), people of colour, including Black older adults, were found significantly more likely to provide and to spend more hours on informal care compared to…”

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confidence: 99%