Older adults as volunteers in Thunder Bay / by Maureen Anne Murphy-Fricker. --

This is a descriptive and exploratory study which examines
\nthe characteristics and expressed motivations among older adults
\nin Thunder Bay toward volunteerism and if altruism is in fact the
\nmain reason for why older adults volunteer. This study also
\ninvestigates the continuity theory; an explanation of why these
\nolder adults might have an ongoing history of volunteering.
\nThere is also a brief section on older adults' expressed
\nattitudes toward volunteering.
\nAn interview schedule was used for the collection of data
\nduring eighty-five face-to-face interviews with older adult
\nvolunteers aged 50 and over. The results showed that the
\nmajority of older adult volunteers in Thunder Bay are female and
\nmainly between the ages of 50-69. Contrary to one's assumption,
\neducational attainment does not seem to be as decisive a factor
\nin determining their characteristics, yet many did come from
\n"highly skilled" occupations. The combination of educational
\nattainment and occupation lend support to the skills and
\nexperience these older adults bring to their volunteer
\nactivities. The majority of these older adults are also in
\n"good" health, married, are Protestant, have sufficient wealth to
\ndevote their leisure time to volunteering and have generally high
\nlevels of life satisfaction. Some socio-demographic variables as
\nwell as health were examined more closely in order to provide a clearer picture of the characteristics of these older adult
\nvolunteers.
\nFor this study, the term altruistic was re-defined to mean
\nthat one volunteers to help others but with the realization of
\nreceiving something in return, and the majority of older adults
\nin this study were found to volunteer more for "altruistic"
\nreasons. Those who are male, married, healthier, Roman Catholic
\nand retired also volunteer for "altruistic" reasons. As well,
\nmales perform more "support" type services and females perform
\nmore "direct" type services- Results revealed that as education
\nincreased, older adults' reasons for volunteering for generally
\naltruistic reasons decreased, "skilled" older adults volunteer
\nfor less altruistic reasons; and with an increase in income,
\nthere was a decrease in older adults volunteering again for
\naltruistic reasons. What was interesting was that transportation
\nand the re-imbursement of out-of-pocket expenses, perceivably two
\nfactors that might affect older adults' ability to volunteer, was
\nof little concern to them.
\nOlder adults in Thunder Bay also have a history of
\nvolunteering. This result affirms the continuation of life
\nprocesses and supports reference to the continuity theory as
\nexplanation for why they volunteered and are not necessarily
\nvolunteering upon retirement or the loss of a role. These older
\nadults are satisfied and happy in their volunteer endeavours yet
\ndid express frustration with the amount of effort and commitment
\nfrom some other older adult volunteers.

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