As the population of older adults increases, Extension is presented with an additional pool of senior volunteers.
Older adults have skills and talents that have been relatively untapped by volunteer organizations.
Volunteer administrators are well aware of the competitive struggle to recruit capable and qualified volunteers. This becomes an even larger obstacle in smaller communities. By utilizing senior citizens' talents and abilities, Extension can reach diverse audiences and provide a sense of belonging and accomplishment for older community members. With this in mind, graduate students from the Ohio State University Department of Agricultural Education turned to a group of senior citizens to provide a cultural experience to a non-traditional audience of fourth grade students. For this activity, the three graduate students became volunteer coordinators.