Today I look at how charities help seniors give back
We often talk about charities serving seniors as places where older adults go to receive help.
There is certainly truth in that. Seniors may need assistance with transportation,
meals, housing, health programs, social activities or simply a place where they
can go and feel welcome. For someone who is isolated, grieving, newly retired or
struggling with a change in circumstances, a seniors’ organization can become an
important lifeline.
But there is another side of the story that doesn't get nearly enough attention.
Seniors aren't just the people being served by these organizations. They
are also the people doing the serving.
Walk into almost any seniors' centre or community organization in British
Columbia and you will find older adults behind the scenes. They are answering phones,
greeting newcomers, preparing meals, organizing programs, making coffee, delivering
food, driving people to appointments, sitting with someone who needs company, raising
money and helping another senior figure out how to navigate a complicated system.
In many cases, they are the engine that keeps the organization moving.
Take Seniors Services Society of BC, for example. Volunteers help with medical
transportation, grocery support, friendly morning calls, fundraising events and
other programs designed to help older adults remain connected and independent. The
organization is actively recruiting volunteers because there is simply so much work
to be done.
Then there is Care BC, where volunteers play a central role in programs such
as Meals on Wheels. Volunteers don't simply leave a meal at the door. They provide
a friendly hello, a brief visit and an informal check on the person's well-being.
For someone who may spend much of the day alone, that few minutes of human contact
can be every bit as important as the meal itself. Care BC puts it rather nicely:
volunteers are the "heart and soul" of its work.
Seniors First BC offers another example. Its volunteers help raise awareness
about issues affecting older adults and support educational programs dealing with
subjects such as financial abuse, advance planning, government benefits, fraud and
scams, and residential tenancy. These are not people simply filling time. They are
using their knowledge and experience to help other older adults make better decisions
and protect themselves.
And this isn't a new idea in British Columbia.
The provincial government has recognized for years that older adults are
an important part of the volunteer sector. Its research has pointed to the benefits
of volunteering for seniors themselves, including stronger social networks, improved
quality of life, greater life satisfaction and a stronger sense of purpose.
That last point deserves our attention.
Purpose.
I have met many people who enjoyed retirement enormously during the first
few months. No alarm clock. No commute. No boss asking where that report is. No
Monday morning meetings.
What's not to like?
But eventually, some begin to miss something they didn't realize their working
life had provided: a reason to get up and go somewhere.
Retirement gives us freedom, but freedom without purpose can sometimes become
isolation.
Volunteering can change that.
It doesn't have to mean committing 20 hours a week or taking on another full-time
job without a paycheque. It might mean helping at a monthly event, reading with
a child, welcoming people at a seniors' centre, delivering meals, making phone calls,
serving on a committee or sharing a skill you have developed over a lifetime.
The important thing isn't how many hours you give.
It is that you give something.
And there is another benefit that is sometimes overlooked.
Volunteering puts us in the path of other people.
That matters.
Friendships don't always happen because we decide we need a new friend. They
happen because we repeatedly show up in the same place, work alongside someone,
share a laugh, solve a problem or discover that we have something in common.
A volunteer shift can become a friendship.
A committee meeting can become a social circle.
A simple invitation to help can become the beginning of a whole new chapter.
I think this is particularly important for those of us who have spent most
of our lives being responsible for somebody else. We raised children. We built careers.
We looked after parents. We coached teams. We served on committees. We helped neighbours.
Why should retirement suddenly mean that all of that stops?
It shouldn't.
In fact, retirement may be the first time in our lives when we can choose
where our experience, energy and compassion will make the biggest difference.
That's why I believe charities serving seniors should never be thought of
simply as places where seniors go to receive.
They are places where seniors can contribute, lead, teach, encourage and
belong.
The relationship is not one-way.
We help each other.
The senior who receives a ride today may be the volunteer giving someone
else a ride next year. The person who comes to a seniors' centre looking for friendship
may eventually become the person standing at the door welcoming a newcomer.
That is how communities are built.
And British Columbia has thousands of seniors doing exactly that.
So, if you are retired, or approaching retirement, and you find yourself
wondering what comes next, don't ask only, "What can I get involved in?"
Ask another question:
"What can I give?"
You may discover that the answer is much bigger than you expected.
You may also discover something else.
While you are giving your time to someone else, you may find that you have
received something pretty valuable yourself, a reason to show up, people to show
up for, new friendships and a renewed sense that you still matter.
Because you do
