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Older Adults Engaged As Volunteers
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Transcript of Older Adults Engaged As Volunteers
Older adults engaged as volunteers
Assistant Ramona BranUniversity of the West Timisoara
Facts
• Birth rates across Europe are falling
• Life expectancy is growing fewer and fewer working
people older adults will have to
work part-time or volunteer after retirement
Volunteerism
• Doing something for the community, without expecting any reward
• Formal• Informal
Why?
• Altruism• Gaining experience• Personal satisfaction• Sense of duty• Making connections• Improving the quality of
their life by improving the quality of the community
Who?
• Anyone can be a volunteer!
• No age limit!• No gender difference!• No difference in social
status!
Older adults as beneficiaries
• Medical care• Socio-cultural events• Access to information,
psychological and juridical counseling
Older adults as participants
TIME + EXPERIENCE
Benefits
• Better physical and mental health
Benefits
• Stronger intergenerational ties
Benefits
• Avoiding isolation and marginalization
Benefits
• Feeling motivated, useful, satisfied
Benefits
• Better family functioning
Challenges
• Old age = passivity• Mentalities
Romania’s Case
• Mainly informal volunteering
• Little evidence about formal volunteering involving older adults (Council of Seniors, Timisoara)
Time for a change
• Family roles (caregiving) complement, do not conflict with volunteering
• Volunteering: = substitute of professional
life= way of keeping up with times= involves the elderly gradually,
but actively and usefully
Thank you!
All photos were taken from flickr, under Creative Commons License