In Part 1 of this series on volunteering in retirement, we explored a summary of research article findings on the many benefits volunteering provides older adults. In Part 2, we’ll provide a strategic framework designed to help you find your optimal volunteer role. We’ll close with real-life case studies of people who have made volunteering an integral part of their retirement life.
A Volunteer Strategy Framework
How do you go about volunteering in retirement? If you currently have a positive volunteer experience, you may need to look no further. However, if you have no volunteer experience or want to try something new, a thoughtful and introspective approach is an ideal way to start. This framework is designed to help you create and actualize a rewarding volunteer experience.
Self-Assessment Questions
These self-assessment questions are designed to help you think about volunteering from a fresh perspective. You may also find it useful to use these questions and your answers to have a dialog with a trusted family member, a friend, or your financial advisor. The personal insights you gain from this exercise may help inform your discussion with organizations you are considering. We recommend that you write your answers out completely. Bring your best creativity to this exercise!
- Where have you volunteered before?
- What do you enjoy doing? What do you think you would like to do as a volunteer?
- What has been your favorite volunteer experience? What did you love about it?
- What skills can you bring to an organization?
- If you could wave a magic wand and solve only one problem in your local community, what would it be?
- Where do you want to volunteer? How far from home are you willing to travel?
- Would you prefer to volunteer indoors or outdoors?
- When do you want to volunteer? Are there certain days of the week that you prefer? Would you consider a seasonal commitment?
- How many hours a week or a month seems just right? How many hours is too much?
- Do you want a regular and steady volunteer role or one that is more project-oriented?
- Do you imagine yourself volunteering in service of an organization, such as on a nonprofit board, or in service of its constituents?
- Do you currently donate money to a charity or charities? Would you consider volunteering at one of these organizations?
- List the nonprofit organizations you admire the most. What attracts you to these organizations?
- In choosing a volunteer experience, how important to you are the following?
- Building social connections
- Volunteering in a role that is aligned with my values
- Volunteering in a role in which I excel and enjoy
Take some time to review and reflect on your answers. Did any new insights or ideas come up for you?
Volunteer Match Sites
There are a number of websites designed to match those wanting to volunteer with organizations looking for volunteers. Visiting these sites can help you imagine new volunteer possibilities. These sites can also match you with a specific volunteer role. Below are links to two national websites and two websites local to the San Francisco Bay Area.
AARP. The AARP website provides a robust volunteer resource and can be accessed at https://www.aarp.org/volunteer/. This site allows you to search by specific interests or causes, such as tax assistance, veterans and military families, and childhood literacy. Volunteer opportunities through AARP list the requirements of the role and the time commitment. AARP’s Create the Good tab is another resource to find volunteer opportunities with local organizations. I did my own search, entering the keywords education and youth, the zip code for San Rafael, and a 50 mile radius. Among the possibilities listed were a “through-college mentor” for high school students, a “community reading buddy” for middle school and high school students, and a role teaching my favorite hobby to a child with chronic illness.
Charity Navigator. Charity Navigator provides a variety of services pertaining to non-profit charities that can match you with organizations in need of volunteers. Their website is https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=201, which provides the following 5-step process to optimize the volunteering experience for both you and the organization:
- Identify charities that match your interests
- Determine what you can offer (the site offers a list of questions to help you with this step).
- Reach out to the charities you have identified.
- Make a commitment
- Expand your reach by enlisting friends to maximize your impact and fun!
VolunteerMatch. VolunteerMatch is an organization whose mission is to match volunteers with non-profit organizations. Their website will prompt you to enter your location information and your desired range of volunteer locales. From there, you’ll see a range of 29 different causes offered, including animals, crisis support, hunger, and people with disabilities. Next, you will be prompted to enter your skills. There are several broad skill categories, many of which contain additional subcategories.
Here is how it worked for me. I input San Rafael as my location and my desire to volunteer within a 60-mile radius. For causes, I selected “Children & Youth”, “Education & Literacy”, “Seniors”, and “Veterans & Military Families”. For skills (you can select up to 10 skills), I selected “Academics,” “Business & Management,” “Finance,” “Education & Literacy,” and “Strategy Development & Business.” Under the topic of “Finance”, I selected “Financial Planning” and “Financial Service Assistance” as subcategories. There are additional filters that further refined my search. Clicking on the search button brought me 86 volunteering opportunities. Possible volunteer roles for me included mentoring underprivileged high school males through SF Achievers, board and leadership opportunities for Literacy Partners in Menlo Park, mentoring youth with the YMCA of San Francisco, and serving as a docent for the USS Potomac (FDR’s historic yacht). As with the previous sites noted in this article, searching the VolunteerMatch site can not only help you find a fulfilling volunteer role, but it can also help inform your volunteer journey by expanding your imagination. The website is located at
https://www.volunteermatch.org/volunteers/gettingstarted/
Local organizations can also be effective in matching non-profit organizations with volunteers. A good example in the North Bay is the Center for Volunteer and Nonprofit Leadership (CVNL). CVNL’s mission reads, “We advance nonprofits and volunteerism by strengthening leadership, encouraging innovation, and empowering individuals in our community” (cvnl.org).
CVNL hosts an annual volunteer fair which connects volunteers directly with leaders from a variety of nonprofits. They also host a volunteer portal where you can search for volunteer opportunities (https://www.volunteernow.org/search). A quick search for available volunteer roles in Marin County yielded several dozen possibilities. Included were the following:
- Volunteer CarePool drivers for older adults (Vivalon)
- Board of Director members (Community Institute for Psychotherapy)
- Disaster Preparedness & Education (American Red Cross)
- Spanish Language Bilingual Wish Grantors (Make-a-Wish Greater Bay Area)
- Slide Ranch Docent (Slide Ranch in Muir Beach)
Volunteering Case Studies
Over the years, I have observed family, friends, and clients as they approach, enter, and journey through retirement. For many, volunteering became an important and meaningful part of their lives. Below are a few case studies of retirees who approached their volunteer experiences in a smart and strategic way. Perhaps some of these examples will spark your imagination!
Jack: In his mid-80’s, Jack continued to work about 10 hours a month in a financial advisory role. He was very active in his role as the President of his neighborhood association and helped to spearhead a fire safety awareness program. Always involved in local politics, Jack served for a year as the foreman of his county’s Civil Grand Jury. It was a challenging and rewarding role to which Jack brought a great deal of leadership experience and passion. After leaving the Grand Jury, he was active in the Grand Jury Association, which recruits, selects, and trains new grand jury members.
Pamela: After a career in the airline industry, Pamela used her work experience, travel expertise, and passion for helping others to start a small non-profit. The non-profit offers an all-inclusive “voluntourism” travel package to Peru, which includes a day-long tour of Machu Pichu. One day is spent working at an orphanage near Cuzco and a portion of the trip cost is donated to the orphanage. Pamela also joined a local Rotary Club and was very active in working with the local high school in a Rotary leadership program.
Mark: After a demanding 23-year career as an officer at a Fortune 500 company, Mark retired and began volunteering for a weekly shift packing food at a local food bank. He and his wife had donated money to the food bank for many years and he wanted to “follow the money” and see how the organization was run. The food packing was very routine and yet Mark enjoyed this activity for several years. He volunteered with a group of other retirees and over time, the team became quite close. Conversations at their weekly shifts ranged widely from books and movies to health and family. Mark later served on the board of the food bank and on the board of another local nonprofit organization in the health care field. His food packing work provided him with social interaction and a sense of community. His board work utilized his leadership experience and skills. All of his voluntary roles gave him a sense of identity, social connection, and purpose. His volunteer work load was thoughtfully designed to leave plenty of time for family and other interests.
Alfredo: Alfredo retired at the age of 68. He was very deliberate and methodical in his approach to planning his retirement life and his volunteer work. As a long-time recovering alcoholic, Alfredo assumed a more active role at AA meetings by becoming a frequent speaker and providing guidance for those new in recovery. As part of his retirement plan, Alfredo joined a local Rotary Club. Rotary provided him with an outlet for social engagement and the opportunity to be of service in his community.
Frank: Frank had two careers: one as a military officer and one in upper management of a mid-sized manufacturing firm. Frank had a sharp mind for details and follow through and a desire to help those less fortunate. He became a volunteer with the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (HICAP), providing information and hand’s on assistance to older adults with health insurance and Medicare billing challenges. He also helped low income individuals complete their tax returns. The HICAP volunteer service entailed 5 to 10 hours per month. The tax work required a larger time commitment, but was limited to tax season each year, leaving him time for family and friends and exercise.
Conclusion
The case studies spotlighted above support the research findings presented in Part 1 of this series. Volunteering provides wide-ranging benefits for our local and global communities. Both science and real-world experience strongly suggest that volunteers enjoy better health and happiness in retirement.
The major life bedrocks that are often lost when we retire, a sense of identity, structure, social engagement, and purpose, can be reclaimed through volunteering.
This article introduced a strategic framework to help you envision and create a volunteer experience that you will love. We believe this framework can be a key component of your broader strategic plan in how you manage your money and how you manage your time in retirement. As always, we invite your comments on what you find useful in this article and suggestions for improvements. I always welcome one-on-one conversations on the topic of Happiness in Retirement.
Feel free to contact me at matt@westhillfa.com.