The desire to help others less fortunate is a major motivation for seniors to volunteer. Senior volunteers stated most often that the ability to help individuals meet their needs and the feeling that those that have more should help those with less were major motivations that drive them to be volunteers in their community. Giving back to society, either financially or socially, are also major motivations for volunteerism among seniors. Increasing outreach and matching seniors with volunteer opportunities that fit their capabilities is extremely important. Twenty-seven percent stated that their age was a reason that they did not volunteer.
Seniors have the time to help, if given an opportunity.
When all adults were surveyed, they cited other time commitments as the major reason why they were not able to volunteer. This was not the case for seniors. Seniors were less likely to say that their personal schedule was too full to volunteer than their younger counterparts. Various institutions are very important to encouraging volunteerism. Most frequently, senior volunteers found out about their volunteering options through their religious institution.