Value
of Senior Volunteers to U.S. Economy Estimated at $75 Billion
Fifth annual Senior Corps Week – May 18-22 – honors RSVP, Foster
Grandparent, and Senior Companion volunteers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Corporation for National and Community
Service (CNCS) will mark the impact that Senior
Corps volunteers have in communities across the country during the fifth annual
Senior Corps Week, taking place May 18-22, 2015, during Older Americans Month.
For more than four decades, Senior Corps volunteers have used their
lifetime of skills and experience to meet community needs. Today, more than
270,000 volunteers age 55+ are serving through Senior Corps’ three programs –
Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, and RSVP. As part of this year’s
activities, a Senior Corps pledge will be introduced to volunteers for the
first time ever which will be administered to volunteers when they enter
service or at special moments throughout the year.
“For generations,
seniors have been making a powerful impact in their communities, and their
service is more important now than ever,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of the
Corporation for National and Community Service. “With so many people in need,
senior volunteers are making a difference in the lives of children, veterans,
elderly, and disaster survivors. Leading the way are more than 270,000 Senior
Corps volunteers – dedicated Americans using a lifetime of skills and
experience to tackle pressing challenges in their communities.”
According to last year’s
Volunteering and Civic Life in America report by
CNCS, more than 20.7 million older adults –quarter of those 55 and older –
contributed more than 3.3 billion hours of service in their communities. Based
on the Independent Sector's estimate of the average value of a volunteer hour,
the yearly economic benefit of this service to the nation is valued at $75
billion. The top-ranked volunteer
activities for 55-plus volunteers were collecting and distributing food,
fundraising, and providing professional or management assistance to nonprofits
– demonstrating that boomers and other older volunteers are using their
lifetime of skills and experience to meet community needs.
In addition to helping
others, older volunteers are also helping themselves by living active, healthy
lives through volunteering. A growing body of research points to mental
and physical health benefits associated with volunteering, including lower mortality
rates, increased strength and energy, decreased rates of depression, and fewer
physical limitations. With nearly one in every five Americans projected to be
age 60 or older by 2030, a great opportunity exists to engage older Americans
in service to meet critical community needs while contributing to longer,
healthier lives.
“As the leading edge of
the boomer generation reaches the traditional retirement age of 65, nonprofits
and communities should be poised to take advantage of this extraordinary wave
of human capital that has the potential to transform our nation,” said Dr.
Erwin Tan, director of Senior Corps at the Corporation for National and
Community Service. “America's baby boomers are the healthiest and best-educated
generation in history, and they can leave an incredible legacy through service
to others.”
Last year, 270,000
Senior Corps volunteers served nearly 74 million hours, making a difference in
the lives of more than 840,000 elderly who received assistance to remain
independent in their homes; and more than 267,100 young people who received
tutoring and mentoring that improved their academic performance, self-esteem,
and overall social behavior. Here are
several examples of Senior Corps project in action:
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Audubon Area
Community Services Senior Companion Program: The Senior Companion
program sponsored by Audubon Area Community Services Inc. in Owensboro,
Kentucky, provides in-home service to chronic, long-term clients. Volunteers
work one-on-one with clients to develop and maintain independent living skills.
In 2014, 73 Senior Companions provided 72,669 hours of in-home care assistance
to 305 frail elderly clients. As a result, 79 percent of clients who received
weekly assistance maintained or improved their activities of daily living and
91 percent of clients were able to remain living in their home.
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Chicago
RSVP, AARP Experience Corps: AARP Experience Corps
uses evidence-based tutoring to guide children in kindergarten through third
grade on the path to reading proficiently and confidently. AARP launched its
program in 2013 recruiting 170 RSVP volunteers who served more than 12,700
hours tutoring 1,230 students in 92 classrooms. This resulted in 82.5 percent
of students demonstrating improvement on a standardized assessment with the
support of the RSVP volunteer.
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PEACE, Inc.
Foster Grandparent Program: The Syracuse School
District gained support from both New York State Legislators and local school
boards to expand the PEACE, Inc. Foster Grandparent Program to every first and
second grade classroom, the first city in the nation to do so. The school
district invested $350,000 in this expansion, which was supplemented by
additional funds from CNCS. By the end of 2015, more than 100 Foster
Grandparents will be in the Syracuse Public School System.
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Queens
Veterans Court: The Queens Veterans
Court in Queens, N.Y. engages RSVP volunteers who are veterans to mentor
veterans with low-level misdemeanors who find themselves in court due to
behavior, mental health, and substance abuse issues related to their military
service. Last year, RSVP volunteers helped 50 veterans get their lives back on
track and keep them out of more serious judicial proceedings.
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RSVP of
Central Oklahoma: In 2014, more than 90 volunteers from RSVP
of Central Oklahoma contributed 4,515 hours of service in recovery efforts
after the 2013 tornado in Moore, Okla. Senior Corps volunteers answered
disaster hotlines, performed follow-up calls to families affected by the
tornado, served food and provided companionship at day shelters, provided
survivors with medical appointments, and collected and distributed donated
goods to disaster survivors.
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