Get Engaged

So many people, so many gifts

In 2000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 35 million people — or approximately 13 percent of the population of the United States — who were over age 65.  This group includes the generational cohorts known as the "G.I.," sometimes known as the “Greatest,” parents of the baby boomers and the “Silents” who were born before and during World War 2. The Baby boomers — born between 1946 and 1964 — make up another 28 percent of the U.S. population. Boomers will start reaching age 65 in the year 2010.

These age cohorts combine to produce the largest group of people in U.S. history reaching retirement age in relative good health, with enormous life and work experiences, considerable human and financial resources and a salient reason to stay engaged and involved.

Baby Boomers as volunteers*

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly a third of all boomers — comprising some 25.8 million people — volunteered for a formal organization in 2005.

At 33.2 percent, the volunteer rate for baby boomers is the highest of any generational age group, and more than four percentage points above the national average of 28.8 percent.

A typical boomer volunteer serves 51 hours a year, or approximately one hour a week.

The percentage of retired baby boomers who volunteered increased steadily, from approximately 25 percent in 2002 to approximately 30 percent in 2004.

Volunteering tends to peak at mid-life, around the current age of baby boomers, and then decline slightly; declining further among the oldest old (typically 75+).

The biggest single inducement for baby boomers to volunteer is to be asked by someone with whom they have an established relationship.
Baby boomers are less likely than older age groups to volunteer out of a sense of duty or obligation and more likely to volunteer as part of a social interaction.

Baby boomers are more likely to volunteer as a result of social, self development, self-esteem, or leisure-focused motivations. Episodic, familiar, community-based opportunities are also preferred.
Four out of five boomers see work as playing a role in their retirement years, with only 20 percent anticipating retiring and not working at all.
Of U.S. workers over age 45, 69 percent plan to work in some capacity during retirement, with only 28 percent expecting not to work at all.
More than 75 percent of workers 45+ feel that work is important to their self-esteem.

*"Facts" adapted from the "2004 Reinventing Aging – Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement" report, Harvard School of Public Health & MetLife Foundation Initiative on Retirement and Civic Engagement Study and the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics

Getting Engaged!

The decision to get engaged can include a myriad of options. If you have an active volunteer ministry in or through your congregation, this might be the first place to begin looking for opportunities to get engaged.  If you do not already have volunteer ministries, you might check into the possibilities of beginning one, or recruiting a group from your congregation to join a community effort such as Habitat for Humanity.

If you feel you are called in particular to community-oriented engagement, you can also identify involvement in activities in your local community or involvement in either long or short term volunteer opportunities that take you to places far away from home.  Local activity engagement might mean getting involved in an ongoing activity or it might mean taking an initiator or leadership role in beginning a project in your community.

Interest Questionnaire

A tool that might help you determine an entry point for engagement is provided here.  While not a formal “interest test” the questions will help you refine your interests and also allow our office to collect aggregate and anonymous information to help in our future program development.  Take the survey. 

How can I discover what I really want to do?

Tips for discovering the right volunteer activity

After you begin to get strong hints about your preferences, assess the practical realities — but do not let a few small barriers stop you if you have found something you really would like to do.

National engagement opportunities

Presbyterian National Volunteers Office

Other options for volunteer engagement

The Experience Corps
A volunteer project designed for adults over age 55 is the Experience Corps.  The project is national and establishes project sites in cities throughout the US.  Experience Corps has a very informative website. 

Get Involved!
The Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees the Senior Corps, AmeriCorps and Learn and Serve America programs, is the federal agency charged by Congress with engaging more Americans in volunteer service. You can learn more about the many age 55-plus service opportunities in your community by visiting the main Web site and searching in the community you wish to serve.

Helpguide.org
This Web site provides a great deal of basic information about volunteering and the value of volunteering as well as links to other volunteer sites.

Why get engaged?

Much has been written over the past 50 years to support the positive connection between long lasting health and religious participation among older adults. However, less is known about which specific aspects of participation in religious organizations or church attendance encourage healthy aging and increase one’s resilience. Some feel that the spiritual aspects of connection to religious organizations are strongly reinforced by the sense of community, purpose and involvement.

A Chronicle of Higher Education article published in 2005 provided additional insight on the motivation of people who are boomers or older to stay active in retirement: 

Many will need to work for the money, the health insurance, or greater economic security. But many retirees, studies show, also want the structure in their lives, the social connections, and the sense of identity. Most of all, though, they want a sense of purpose — a reason to get up in the morning. (1)

Susan McFadden, in her commentary "Religious Coping in later Life," reports, “The exact mechanisms of the relationship between religion and late life health are unclear; social support from clergy and fellow congregants is believed to play an important role.” McFadden continues with the observation that, “While it may be possible for an older adult to meet their needs in isolation, for most seniors, their needs are better met through engagement with one another.” (2)

Sociologists Barkan and Greenwood (2003) have also studied the relationship between well-being and religious observance and conclude that because older adults tend to have more issues with health, well-being, loneliness, bereavement or mental illness than younger people, it is important to learn if there is a positive effect garnered from regular attendance at religious services. They see specific potential value in increased social ties, emotional and practical support in the face of personal problems, physical activity and the values generally endorsed in church — promoting healthy lifestyles and discouraging risky behavior:

For physical health, religious involvement has been linked to lower rates of a myriad of problems, including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, certain types of cancer, and even mortality. For mental health, religious activity involvement has been linked to higher levels of psychological well-being such as life satisfaction and happiness and to lower rates of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. (3)

Louis Walker, a financial writer and analyst writing from outside any organized religious group, observes a "search for meaning" among his older clients. “The process of aging well, combined with varying degrees of success, leads people to think beyond earthly matters in greater depth.” (4)

This convergence of search for meaning, with healthy aging and religious participation is described most broadly by Crowder, et al. (2002):

Many Eastern and Western religious traditions emphasize an intimate relation with a transcendent force, place high value on personal relations, stress respect and value for the self, yet place emphasis on humility. The resulting emphasis on relations — relation to a transcend force, to others, and to self — may have important mental health consequences, especially in regard to coping with the difficult life circumstances that accompany poor health and chronic disability. (5)

For aging boomers, affiliation with a religious group would seem to address a myriad of social and spiritual issues. Participation in meaningful activities through “the church” adds quality and a needs service to congregation and community.

References Cited

1. "Academics Pioneer 'the Third Age'" Marc Freedman & Phyllis Moen, The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 29, 2005.
2. McFadden, Susan," Religious Coping In later Life," (2004) Religious Influences on Health and Well-  Being in the Elderly, New York, Springer Publishing Company, Pages, 145-161.
3. Barkan, Steven E. and Greenwood, Susan F. Greenwood, (2003) "Religious Attendance and Subjective Well-Being Among Older Americans: Evidence from the General Social Survey,"  Review of Religious Research, Volume 45:2, Pages 116-129.
4. Walker, Louis, “Money & Soul: The Meaning of Life (Planning),” Journal of Financial Planning, Retrieved 8/2/2006.
5. Crowder, Martha R; Parker; Michael W; Achenbaum WA; Larimore Walter L.; Koenig, Harold G.; (2002) "Rowe and Kahn's model of successful aging revisited: Positive spirituality," The Gerontologist,  42. 5), Page 613.