Friday, 14 January 2005 - 12:00 PM

This presentation is part of: Poster Session I

Older Adults’ Access to Organizational Volunteering

Purpose. As older adults are increasingly involved in organizational volunteering, it is important to build the knowledge about their preference in organization types and access to volunteer organizations. Older adults from different socioeconomic background may vary in the ways of engagement in volunteer organizations.

Methods. Using secondary data analysis, the September 2002 Current Population Survey (CPS) was subset into older adults aged 65 and over (N=18,109). Bivariate analyses were conducted to examine the association between organization types and the access to organizations. Multinomial logit model with PROC CATMOD was used to assess the effects of age, gender, race, education, income and other sociodemographics on the approaches to volunteer organizations among older volunteers.

Results. About 24% of older adults volunteered in various organizations. They were likely to volunteer in religious organizations (45%), social and community service groups (18%), and hospital, clinic, or healthcare organizations (8%). Individual approach to organizations and being asked by organizations were the most frequent ways to be involved in volunteering. Older volunteers were most likely to be asked by someone in organizations (63%) and their friends (24%). Gender, income, and education were significantly related to the ways of being engaged. Men were 0.9 times less likely than women to be asked by friends to volunteer. High-educated elders were less likely to be asked by relatives to do volunteering. High-income elders were 1.2 times more likely than low-income seniors to be formally involved in organizations (e.g., being referred by organizations, responding to formal advertisements on public media).

Implications. Older adults are willing and able to be engaged in organizational volunteering. Being asked formally by organizations or informally by friends is important for elders to access volunteer organizations. Volunteer organizations need build and increase institutional capacity through which older adults can be effectively linked with volunteer roles appropriate for their interest and ability. Barriers to volunteer organizations embedded in social structures such as social class, race, and gender should be overcome in the effort to expand volunteering opportunities among older adults.

See more of Poster Session I
See more of Oral and Poster

See more of Celebrating a Decade of SSWR (January 13 - 16, 2005)