PDF format. Articles
Abstracts from Volume 8 Issue 2
Volunteering in later life: is it good for your health?
Jeni Warburton, Australasian Centre on Ageing, University of Queensland
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As a result of the current political interest in healthy and productive ageing strategies, there has been a plethora of large-scale longitudinal studies demonstrating a causal relationship between volunteering and health in later life. However, despite this evidence, far less is known about the nature of this relationship and the mechanisms by which it occurs. This article aims to explore the relationship between volunteering and health, using an in-depth qualitative approach. The study uses data from focus groups of older
people across Queensland, Australia, in order to see how a broad group of older Australians experience and interpret this relationship. The study identifies six potential themes. Volunteering provides a key role and sense of purpose in life, it helps to raise confidence and selfesteem, and it does this by providing an other-centred focus, which is associated with personal agency and control. As a generative act, late-life volunteering is important for positive human development. Finally, volunteering is a social activity and thus provides a means to counter social isolation and loneliness. The implications of these findings for health promotion activities are discussed.
Senior volunteers helping senior adults: leveraging elder power for double gain
Ellen S Stevens-Roseman, University of Houston
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In the USA, the numbers of the ‘oldest old’ are increasing at a
faster rate than the growth in ageing Americans overall. Concerns about how to meet the needs of this longer-living populace can be addressed in part through the resource of the ‘younger old’. This article presents the findings of research into how to meet the needs of senior volunteers so that they receive on-the-job benefits and stay on the job. A pilot study with thirty-seven Senior Companions – low-income, culturally diverse senior volunteers who assist other senior adults that need help with daily living – focused on identifying correlates of life satisfaction. Findings point to three salient correlates: ‘feeling needed and productive’; ‘receiving familiar levels of respect’; and ‘meeting one’s own expectations for later life’.
These findings concur with those of previous research with older family members, older employees and ageing veterans. Volunteer service professionals may apply these findings to enhance the life satisfaction of older volunteers, and thus reap the benefits of the volunteer retention that stems from satisfaction.
Volunteers who work with Australia's asylum seekers: a mixed-method action research project
Val Clark, University of Newcastle (Australia)
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Australia’s asylum seekers are extremely vulnerable, impoverished, socially marginalised and disadvantaged, largely because of punitive government policies. They are therefore very dependent on services provided by volunteers and not-for-profit organisations. This study profiles a sample of current and former volunteers at the NSW Asylum Seekers Centre (ASC). A mixed-method action research design was used, consisting of interviews, a focus group and a survey. Among their most salient characteristics, ASC volunteers are predominantly female, older, born in Australia, well educated and have a wealth of prior work experiences. A major
motivator for volunteering is their opposition to government asylumseeker policies. Most favoured more resources being devoted to volunteer co-ordination and support. Further action research with a social justice agenda is needed in the area of volunteer work with disadvantaged populations.
Improving societal use of human resources: from employability to volunteerability
Professor Lucas CPM Meijs and Esther M Ten Hoorn. Erasmus University, Rotterdam and Professor Jeffrey L Brudney, Cleveland State University
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This article proposes the concept of ‘volunteerability’ as a way
of bridging the gap between the policy goals (e.g. to recruit more volunteers) of bodies such as governments, companies and organisations, and the instruments (e.g. volunteer policies) that such bodies devise to meet those goals. An adaptation of the concept of ‘employability’ used in discussions about the paid labour market, volunteerability asks the question: ‘What makes a person more or less willing and able to volunteer?’ The article suggests that, on the supply side, organisations could increase volunteerability by
publicising volunteering more effectively, reducing the obstacles to involvement and training would-be volunteers; on the demand side, they could offer more flexible assignments and a system of rewards for volunteering.
Volunteers in a children's hospice
Rosalind Scott, Children's Hospice Association Scotland
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This article reports the findings of a study of volunteering at a
children’s hospice, and in particular the impact of volunteering on families, staff and the volunteers themselves. Volunteering clearly had a significant and positive impact on families, providing additional support, extending services and reducing isolation. It also impacted significantly on staff morale and development, whilst the volunteers themselves increased their social networks and enhanced their personal growth.
