When gerry freeman retired three years ago at age 59, he decided to take three to six months just for himself — “To wander around the house in my pajamas all day if I felt like it.”
After just two weeks, the former Vancity Credit Union branch manager, who lives in Port Moody, B.C., was bored to tears. “I was used to charging around all day,” he says. “So, I thought I’d play some golf. But what I like best about golf is the people I play with, and they were all working during the week.”
A volunteer with his local business improvement association and school fundraising before he retired, he decided to check out Dogwood Pavilion, a community centre that offers programs and activities for those over the age of 50.
“Mind you, I was only interested in helping out,” he says with a laugh. “I wasn’t one of those old people who go to seniors’ centres.”
Today, he’s a regular at Dogwood Pavilion, taking woodworking classes and working out at its fitness centre. He also “helps out” there. In March and April each year, as part of the Canada Revenue Agency‘s community volunteer income tax program, he helps about 70 individuals complete their income tax returns. After income tax season, he puts on another hat and takes part in Dogwood Pavilion’s peer counselling program. “We deal with everything from helping people fill out forms to receive OAS to listening to their housing concerns,” he says.
If you have a retired client who is wondering what to do with all that free time like Freeman had, you might suggest volunteer work, which can benefit both the community and your client.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2004 National Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating, Canadians over the age of 55 chalked up the most volunteer hours of all age groups that year. Of those in the 55 to 64 age group, 42% volunteered and each contributed an average of 202 hours, vs the 25 to 34 age group which, likewise, had a 42% volunteer rate but averaged only 137 hours. Of those surveyed who were 65 and older, 32% volunteered and each put in a whopping average of 245 hours a year.
According to Marlene Deboisbriand, president of Volunteer Canada, an Ottawa-based non-profit organization that promotes volunteerism in Canada, the four most common reasons seniors volunteer are: to stay connected to other people; to stay active and productive in a structured way; to give back to a community from which they’ve benefited; and to contribute to a cause in which they believe.
Volunteers such as Freeman give their time, energy, skills and experience to improve their communities and help others. And there’s an economic value to their contribution. In 2000, the approximately one billion hours of volunteer time that were contributed is the equivalent of 549,000 full-time year-round jobs. If an economic value were assigned to this time, it would be more than $17 billion a year (using the national average wage and a 40-hour week), Volunteer Canada says.
Volunteering also can play an important role in healthy aging. The benefits to seniors are enormous, Deboisbriand says: “It promotes physical and mental health. It’s a buffer against stress and illness. It provides exercise, just by getting people out of the house and moving. And it keeps their brains working.”
The psychological benefits are important. When a person retires from a career that provided status and a sense of productivity, he or she often experiences an identity crisis. “Volunteer work can enhance self-esteem and bring back the sense of purpose and productivity the retiree lost when he or she retired,” Deboisbriand says. “And retirees can contribute their networks. People over 50 often have powerful networks of people they’ve worked with in the past. These networks can be hugely powerful to charitable and non-profit organizations.”
Volunteering is also an opportunity to learn something new, she adds. “The person who spent years as a banker, but was always interested in the theatre, can work with a community theatre group. It’s a chance to start a new ‘career’ and explore something you’ve always been interested in.”
“I’m learning so much,” Freeman says about his peer counselling work. “Everyone has his or her story. I’m using the listening skills I developed as a branch manager and taking them to a new level. It’s amazing how having someone to listen to them seems to help lighten people’s loads.”
@page_break@Volunteer Canada’s Web site at www.volunteer.ca lists more than 200 volunteer centres across Canada that provide volunteer programs suited to specific communities. But seniors should also consider what they care about and get involved with that, Deboisbriand says: “It’s not like a paid job — they can actually pick what they want to do.”
Here are some questions you can ask your older clients to help them find suitable volunteer work:
> If you had all the financial resources in the world, what problem would you solve? What would you change, or create?
> What time commitment are you willing to make?
> Would you like to volunteer with other people or by yourself?
> Would you like to volunteer from home or outside the home?
> Do you have certain skills you want to share?
> Would you like to develop a new skill?
> What are your personal goals?
> Would you like to re-enter the workforce or meet new people? IE