Older adults often experience loneliness and disconnection. Even active seniors can start to feel it, and they may also experience a lack of purpose and meaning. One answer is to look for volunteer opportunities for seniors.
Retirees have valuable skills built up over a lifetime and can gain personal satisfaction from giving back to their community. Volunteering can also reduce stress, lower depression and loneliness, and even help you live a longer, healthier life.
However, it can sometimes be hard to find volunteer opportunities for seniors, and some people struggle to come up with ideas. Here are some of our suggestions for ways to give back and get out of the house:
Work With Youth
Especially if you don’t have grandchildren, or if they live a long way away, working with families and children can be extremely rewarding. Mentorship programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters connect you with children who need guidance and a good role model. Libraries and schools may have programs where you can read to a child or group of children, supporting literacy and encouraging kids to love books.
Another option is foster grandparent programs, such as the one from AmeriCorps. These might involve children with special needs, or simply connect you with children who don’t have grandparents to talk to, allowing you to pass on your wisdom.
If you are an athlete, you could look for volunteer opportunities for seniors that involve coaching to help children learn a new sport. You could also consider volunteering for children’s programming or hosting an exchange student.
Working with kids is a great option if you like children, don’t have or aren’t close to your grandchildren, or have teaching experience. It can help you pass on your wisdom and skills to younger generations.
However, not all seniors can keep up with children, and some programs may match you with difficult youth who need a lot of help. Mentorship programs, in particular, are not for everyone.
Work With Animals
Animal shelters are always short of volunteers. Not only do they need volunteers for animal care, but for administrative tasks, such as reception work, which might allow you to help without chasing active puppies and kittens around. Some shelters prefer to place older animals for foster care with older individuals or couples.
If you have a friendly, gentle dog, consider training the dog as a therapy animal. You can then go to hospitals or nursing homes to bring others joy and help them relax. If going into a nursing home is too depressing, some colleges bring in therapy animals during finals and midterms to help nervous students relax. Your local airport may also have a therapy dog program to support nervous flyers.
Wildlife sanctuaries also have volunteer opportunities for seniors, even for people who aren’t up to dealing with rehabilitation anymore. If you know a lot about conservation, you can work as an educator or docent and may even get to work with trained ambassador animals.
Working with animals can be relaxing, especially if you are a lifelong pet owner. Volunteering at a shelter can also be an option if you can’t currently own a pet due to accommodation restrictions or living with somebody with allergies. However, direct work with animals can be physically challenging for older people.
Hands-On Community Work
Your community may also have needs, and local needs can vary. If you have construction skills–or are still fit and willing to learn–you can volunteer with Habitat for Humanity to help families in need build their own homes. Meals on Wheels is also always looking for volunteers, although this requires a drivers’ license and, typically, a vehicle.
Look for other local opportunities, too. These might include:
- Community and urban gardens
- Stream cleanups
- Invasive plant removal
- Adopt-a-Block litter removal programs
This is a great way to stay fit and get out in nature. However, these kinds of opportunities may have physical requirements, such as being able to lift 30 lbs, and may not be suitable for less fit individuals.
Arts and Culture
Museums and libraries often look for volunteers. Museum volunteers work as docents or guides, which is great if you have a lot of knowledge of your local history. Libraries may need people to support services, help people use computers, etc. Small non-profits are also often desperate for volunteers. Note that some museum opportunities might even involve putting on a costume.
If you have arts and crafts skills, you can volunteer to teach at a senior center or youth club. Knitting, painting, writing, and other creative activities are often in demand, and volunteer instructors reduce costs.
The downside is that many of these opportunities are on evenings and weekends and can sometimes interfere with family opportunities or your social life. This makes them better for people with few relatives and friends nearby.
Health Care and Emotional Support
Volunteering at a hospital or nursing home can provide a lot of satisfaction while helping others. Volunteers may visit patients who don’t have family or don’t have them close by. Cuddler Programs bring volunteers into the NICU to hold babies, change diapers, feed, and do other non-medical stuff to free up the nurses and provide babies more attention when their parents can’t be there. Newborn cuddling helps babies recover from early trauma, whether they’re premature, victims of birth trauma, or have lost a parent. Hospice volunteers stay with patients who are dying to give their families a break.
If you have experienced loss, you can support others by assisting in grief counseling programs, working with trained counselors to support people, including children, struggling with grief.
However, these opportunities can impact your own mental health. Make sure you have the support you need, and never overcommit.
Administrative Services
If you have experience with administration or marketing, you can support nonprofits and help them raise the money they need, organize volunteers, greet visitors, etc. These skills are always in demand, and you can easily find a cause you’re willing to support.
You can also free up volunteers with specific skills by doing easier tasks like answering the phones. These opportunities are less interesting for most but are great for people who are starting to have mobility issues or who still enjoy being the “office manager.”
Virtual Volunteering
Many opportunities are now entirely virtual. You can volunteer from your own home and still do a lot of things. These might include:
- Tutoring or mentoring children
- Being a “pen grandparent” to a child
- Doing social media management or website updates
- Translation work, if you happen to know a foreign language
- Helping blind and low-vision individuals through an app
- Crisis counseling
If you live in a remote area with few opportunities, virtual volunteer opportunities for seniors can help you give back. However, it won’t get you out of the house and active if that’s what you need.
Transportation
If you still have a driver’s license and are willing to do some training, there are always volunteers needed to transport things and people. We already mentioned Meals on Wheels, but volunteers might:
- Transport people to hospital for medical treatment.
- Transport shelter animals to their new home, or even service dog puppies.
- Deliver groceries to food-insecure people.
- Deliver books to low-income children.
Endless Volunteer Opportunities for Seniors
There are thousands of other volunteer opportunities for seniors. For example, if you can sing or play an instrument, you might volunteer to go into hospitals and nursing homes to play music and cheer people up. If you ran a business, you can lead workshops and seminars to help young entrepreneurs. If you’re looking for opportunities, check out websites such as VolunteerMatch and AARP’s Create the Good, which lets you search for opportunities by location and interest. Also look at your local community center, library, or churches. If you’re looking for animal-specific opportunities, call shelters or, if you have a pet, you could ask your vet.
The possibilities are endless. You can stay active, contribute to meaningful causes, and enrich your life with connections to others. Seniors who volunteer stay healthier and live longer as well as supporting vibrant communities and reducing generational siloing.
Are you looking for a vibrant community to retire to? Let 55places help you find the perfect spot.
