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| These men are among dozens of retirees who volunteer at the Dassel History Center. |
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| These retirees contributed to a book, Main Street Kids, about their childhoods in Dassel. |
Now that I'm past 65, I hang out with a lot of volunteers.
What is it about senior citizens and volunteering? Are we bored? Are we really motivated by an altruistic desire to "give back to the community?" Or do we just want to feel useful in our declining years?
It could well be a combination of all of the above.
Since entering kindergarten at age five, most citizens take on a role. You are a first-grader, or a junior in high school, a freshman at XYZ University, an intern, a mother or father, a secretary, a nurse, an architect or lawyer at ABC firm, etc.
In my adult life, I was, respectively, a freshman at the University of Idaho, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota, a clerk typist at the University Extension Service, a full-time mother of one, two, three and finally four children, a farmwife, a braille transcriber and secretary, a newspaper reporter, a county commissioner, a consultant.
Now I'm retired. Almost daily I am asked, "What are you doing now that you've retired?"
My response is usually, "I'm doing a lot of volunteer driving for the county and a little part-time work."
The variety of part-time gigs are too numerous for the typical, "Hey, how are you?" conversation, so I tend to focus on the volunteer driving. It is probably my most consistent pastime these days, anyhow. My free-lance journalism occupies perhaps six hours a month, plus about a week of intense work on a quarterly basis. Custodial work at my church takes approximately two hours a week. My seasonal Farmers Market work--about four hours a week for a few months. My other volunteering--at church and at the History Center--is pretty sporadic: two or three hours per week at best. That makes the Retired Senior Volunteer driving gig, at 10-15 hours most weeks, the closest thing I have to a "real" job.
I filled out an application for this gig and passed the background screening. Once a year, my doctor needs to okay my medical suitability for driving and my mechanic has to inspect my car. I have annual training sessions. I even wear a badge. Yeah, it's like a real job. Except that I don't need to report the stipend to the IRS since it is technically just reimbursement for my expenses.
Being a volunteer driver means I spend time a car, often for a couple of hours, with people from all walks of life. Some are little old ladies who no longer drive, but I also take people of all ages to their mental health groups, people who cannot drive because of DUI records to their doctor appointments, people with cancer to radiation, young people in foster care to summer school programs and disabled people to physical therapy. Most of my clients are low income. It is interesting to meet them. Many of them talk freely about how they came to be in their current situation. It is sobering to hear how a car accident, a divorce, a DUI incident or health issues changed what had been a normal, active life into a daily struggle. It doesn't take long to realize that people on "welfare" are human beings. Most of them worked hard until their health forced them to quit. Their lives are not easy. Several of them have experienced homelessness or domestic abuse. Giving up driving--whether due to their health or eyesight or because of extreme poverty--has been difficult for many of them. An extra perk has been that driving the foster care kids has enabled me to keep up on the latest music on the car radio--and some of it is actually good.
I also spend an hour or two (or more) waiting for the clients while they are seeing their doctor, dentist or therapist. We volunteer drivers learn the most convenient (and cheapest) locations for cups of coffee, fuel, and fast food near the medical facilities in the cities we frequent. My fitness club membership allows complimentary workouts at a sister franchise--and I take advantage of this privilege. I know where the nearest Target and fabric stores are located in regional centers. I keep comfortable shoes in the car for mall walking, I also get a lot of embroidery, reading and writing done in waiting rooms. My waiting time is definitely not wasted.
So why do I do it? I really don't know. Since my own parents died when I was quite young, I was spared the obligation of caring for my elders, so this is a way I can have that experience. I had to drive as part of my reporter & commissioner jobs and became accustomed to navigating the Twin Cities as well as the rural regional centers of St, Cloud, Willmar and Hutchinson. In recent years, God has provided me with dependable cars, and this is a way to show my appreciation. Also (and quite importantly for many seniors on a fixed income,) driving for the county service means that my mileage and expenses are reimbursed. This basically allows my husband and I to own and operate two vehicles instead of only one. (It is cheaper for our government-funded medical programs to pay mileage for a volunteer than it is to hire a cab or pay for a medical transportation service.) I also request reimbursement of expenses for several of the other volunteer activities in which I take place, including several of the advisory committees on which I serve.
As a retiree on a pension, I can afford to donate my time, but gas is expensive.
In digging deeper into why people volunteer, I think that a more substantive reason is that it is a good use of human resources. We sixty-somethings are often in good health and mentally alert when we retire. Some of us leave the job market before we had intended to fully retire, Others of us leave as planned, but wind up "flunking" retirement because we need to keep our minds and bodies more active.
Modern medications and attention to diet and exercise keep many of us in good physical condition long after the Depression-era established "retirement" age of 65.
Why should society park the brains and bodies that it has spent millions of dollars educating and keeping healthy on shelves just because those brains and bodies have turned 65? Social Security and pensions often make labor no longer needed for financial sustenance, but active people want to remain active. Finding the right volunteer job allows older adults to make better use of the physical plant of their bodies.
Travel, golf, cards and other leisure activities may not give people enough of a sense of purpose. Women, especially, may miss the physical presence of adult children who have grown up and moved away. Volunteering can also fill the gaps in a person's life after a spouse or beloved sibling or friend passes away.
Not all retirees need or want to volunteer. For some, the daily responsibility of being a caregiver for an ailing spouse or elderly relative, helping to raise their grandchildren, or dealing with a personal health issue occupies most of their time and energy. Other retirees find themselves in need of income to supplement their Social Security checks. For them, a part-time job may take the place of volunteering. (Or the presence of a pension check to cover the "necessities" may provide the incentive to actually try some avenue of self employment.)
As young people, we attend college or trade school to prepare ourselves for a lifetime career. In a similar way, as people approach retirement, they should take inventory of their unique skills and interests and prepare for the activity for this "encore" period of their lives. (A couple I know, Mark and Janet Skie, have written a book, "Mapping Your Retirement," about this stage of life.
Types of volunteer opportunities vary greatly. People in certain careers, such as medicine, teaching, and social services, are accustomed to the roles volunteers play in their institutions, and gravitate quite naturally into these roles after they retire. Hospitals, nursing homes and schools buzz with the energy of recently retired staff. Some of these opportunities (such as substitute teaching) also bring supplemental income into a retiree's home.
Opportunities to utilize retirees' brains and skills also abound in faith-based institutions like Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services and within churches and synagogues of all denominations. Most museums and libraries would shut their doors without their cadres of volunteers. The advantages of this type of volunteering for older professionals is that this type of volunteer work need not be boring or mundane. Non-profit organizations need everything from envelope stuffers to handymen to project managers. They often have volunteer coordinators on staff to keep things running smoothly.
Another type of volunteering in which I engage is serving on boards and advisory committees. City councils, county boards, state government, hospitals and church denominations are seeking skilled, experienced individuals to sit on these panels. Expense reimbursement or stipends may be part of this type of service.
Political activism provides another opportunity for volunteers. People who are passionate about a cause or philosophy or candidate will find lots of opportunity in this arena.
Additional training may be a part of the volunteer experience. I am being sent to leadership training by a church denomination board on which I serve. Many non-profit groups invest in training their volunteers and board members.
After I retired, I looked into a number of volunteer opportunities and got involved in the ones I am presently doing. I discontinued or cut back on a couple of other activities, mostly because I found them not to be as good of a "fit" to my skills and interests. (It is easy to say "yes" to things that are not a good fit, simply because one has more spare time after retirement.)
For the most part, I have been spared time-consuming "caregiver" duties, and something in my nature needs a role identity. And yes, doing something for those less fortunate than me helps me feel better, more useful and as if I'm fulfilling God's exhortations to serve my fellow inhabitants of this planet. So I volunteer.
