Older Volunteering

Overview

The number of potential older volunteers is increasing as the number of older people soars. A government study estimates that by 2021 the UK's population of people aged 60+ could rise by 30% to 16 million (quoted in A Golden Opportunity).

Older people's skills and life experiences mean that they have a lot to offer through volunteering. This section of the Good Practice Bank contains good practice guides and research documents to help you work with older volunteers.

From another perspective, it also includes some material on involving volunteers in your work with older people.

Articles

• Frequently Asked Questions on involving older volunteers - VITA project (external link)
• Active Ageing in Active Communities: volunteering and the transition to retirement - IVR report
• The Older People's Enquiry: 'That little bit of help' - Joseph Rowntree Foundation
• Volunteering, Self-help and Citizenship in Later Life - Age Concern Newcastle and the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
• Reports and research from the VITA (Volunteering in the Third Age) project
• Making a difference through volunteering: The impact of volunteers who support and care for people at home - CSV, Help The Aged and British Red Cross (PDF, external link)

Examples

If you have any example policies or documents to contribute please let us know!

Case studies

• Read VITA case studies on volunteer’s experiences and how organisations benefit from retaining and recruiting older volunteers (external link)
  

Links

• REACH matches the skills of experienced people to the needs of voluntary organisations.
  www.reach-online.org.uk
• RSVP, (the retired and senior volunteer programme), encourages people aged 50+ to participate in their local area.
  www.csv-rsvp.org.uk
• WRVS, large voluntary service organisation which co-ordinated a recent VITA (Volunteering in the Third Age) project and involves large numbers of older volunteers in its work.
  http://www.wrvs.org.uk/vita/home.htm
• Age Positive website, gives information about the age discrimination legislation introduced in 2006. The law doesn't apply to volunteers, but volunteer managers can still find useful guidance on working with older people.
  http://www.agepositive.gov.uk/
  Also visit: summary of key facts
  

Publications

Free publications

• A Golden Opportunity: A guide to attracting and retaining older volunteers - VITA, Reach and WRVS(PDF)
• A toolkit for involving older disabled volunteers - VITA (PDF)
• A toolkit for involving older BME volunteers - VITA (PDF)

Priced publications

• Involving Older Volunteers: a good practice guide - Volunteering England
• Volunteering by Older People: a route to opportunity - Volunteering England

Share your experiences!

The Good Practice Bank is growing steadily as more information is added to it. An important feature of the Bank is allowing users to share their documents with other volunteering organisations. We are particularly interested in receiving example policies or documents that you are happy to share with others. If we use your contribution, you could win a book on volunteering from our regular prize draw.

• If your organisation has an example to contribute, please use our simple form to submit it.
• Or, please send us an email or telephone 0800 028 3304 (phone and textphone)