Huge number of older Australians volunteering
A new study has found that 56 per cent of Australian’s over the age of 50 are currently engaged with community or volunteer work.
The study commissioned by over 50s insurer Apia, also discovered that 9 in 10 over 50-year-olds engaged in volunteer work are volunteering for altruistic reasons with the most common reason being to contribute to their community.
Robin Downey has been engaged in volunteer work for nearly 30 years across a variety of services.
The 65-year-old previously did Red Cross Calls at 8am each morning and now she is a frequent volunteer at St Lucy’s School for the disabled where she reads and plays with the children.
Robin first signed up to volunteer for Red Cross calls when her kids were still at home when she was in her 40s after she heard it mentioned on television.
“There was something on TV I think it was on one of the current affairs programs about the red cross and they indicated they were looking for volunteers and I thought ‘Oh I can do that, that’s easy for me to do, I can do that from home’,” explained Robin.
“The idea of that program was that someone had to ring a client for a month and if they didn’t answer phone within a certain time or after you tried to call them three times, you would then ring the Red Cross who would arrange for someone who had the key to come in and check on this person and make sure they hadn’t fallen over or something had happened to them during the night.”
“I was quite happy to chat to someone for ten minutes or half an hour or however long they wanted.”
The study also found that 51 per cent of Australians over 50 believe knowledge sharing is one of the most meaningful ways they can make a significant contribution to the community.
Robin volunteers at St Lucy’s every Thursday and has recently put her name down to help volunteer at the school her granddaughter has started going to.
“I help them with their mathematics, I help them with reading, I help them with craft, whatever the teacher says can you help with, that’s what I do. The one on one with the kids is great, I just love them all.”
Geoff Keogh, head of Apia Customer Value, said, “Australians over 50 have at least half a century of experience to offer, and it’s pretty remarkable that over half of this demographic are putting their skills and knowledge towards a worthwhile cause – this is a true testament of over 50’s commitment to help others.”
“Find something you are interested in and just try it. Don’t be afraid just try it. You will get so much joy out of it, whatever it is you are doing, as I do with the kids, it is just wonderful.”
“It’s nice to be out meeting other people and doing something that you enjoy and it’s not hard. It probably keeps you young too, I don’t know.”