Keep Older Volunteers Involved, Active

I was doing a little phone calling recently to help update a local non-profit organization’s volunteer database, and I began noticing a pattern: a number of older individuals who had once been active in the organization but had dropped out in recent years because they could no longer perform the volunteer activities they had accomplished in the past.

It occurs to me that this shouldn’t happen. Perhaps volunteer organizations should keep an eye on their volunteer lists, and as older participants start dropping away, they should move into a sort of "volunteer emeritus" status, invited to meetings, social gatherings, and award ceremonies along with still active participants. Older volunteers should be honored, checked up on, and included in events on a regular basis, with rides to activities arranged if needed. If they’d still like to contribute their time, maybe the organization can keep a list of jobs like stuffing envelopes, setting out food for hungry volunteers, and other low-demand activities that older or disabled volunteers could accomplish while still enjoying the camaraderie of involvement in the group.

It seems a shame to be rewarded for a lifetime of volunteer work by being isolated from the organization because of an inability to fully participate. Perhaps as get older and less active, get older and less active, it’s time for organizations to give back a little.