We know you haven’t been lollygagging all summer, but you didn’t get much done either. Rain, rain, go away, come again another day kept most of us out of our gardens, off the beaches, and hugging our TVs for entertainment. No bracing walks in the park after supper, no muscles  bulging from paddling our canoes, no croquet wins on the soggy lawn. Now it’s finally hot in our part of the country, but you can’t just sit there in the porch swing dreaming…there are things for us to do. Just as the kids are going back to school, so we boomers and boomers-plus are returning to school, as we told you last week.

But there is another return to action we need to take – returning to our volunteer assignments full-time.  I know many of you worked through the summer as docents at museums or answering tourists’ questions. And there was no shortage of white hair when visitors were ushered down the aisle at a performance of the ballet at SPAC or chamber music at the Spa Little Theatre. In fact, I saw one hardy older woman there, Maine fisherman’s hat firmly tied under her chin, directing handicapped patrons to parking while thunder and lightening struck frighteningly close.

But now that you are back from Europe or visiting your grandkids or escaping to a sunnier clime, volunteering in this area gets back to serious business. We often hear the comment that if older citizens stopped volunteering, museums and concert venues, visitor’s centers, educational and intergenerational programs,  hospitals and libraries would be without salespeople, docents, greeters, class leaders and ushers.

As Justice Louis Brandeis of the U.S. Supreme Court stated many decades ago, “The most important political office is that of private citizen.” Volunteerism, “according to Texas attorney Bruce P. Bower, “…is one way that older persons can meet the duties of their high office...one way that self-interest and the common good can meet.”

The Older Americans Act strongly supports volunteerism such as the Foster Grandparents Program, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and Benefits Counseling. Working through the efforts of state units and area agencies on aging, older Americans volunteer in many settings.

Of course, the benefits travel both ways, to and from the worker and the institution. Civic and social engagement are beneficial to the older person’s health and mental alertness. In fact there’s even a name for it, “helper’s high.” And the organizations that use volunteers benefit from having billions of dollars of contributed volunteer hours. According to Fast Facts, “In 2000 there were over 27 million volunteers over the age of 55 in the U.S., totaling 7.5 billion hours of time given.”

Unfortunately, we need to recognize that as with any job there can be negatives that crop up even in volunteerism. American society still has a certain level of ageism and negative thinking about the abilities of older individuals. And for the volunteer, there may be a problem with the lack of financial incentive, especially in a time of crisis such as the current cost of gas to drive to and from assignments.

Hidden negatives may also lie in the attitudes of both the volunteer and the benefiting institution.

So let’s take a look at a few rules of the road.

We believe, as experienced volunteers ourselves, that it is important to treat your volunteer job as a “real job.” Because it is. Many organizations could not even function without your help. 

One such organization we know of operates successfully with two part-time paid employees and more than twenty volunteers.

Your work as a volunteer means learning your job, respecting your supervisor, being on time, dressing appropriately, being courteous to visitors and fellow workers, calling in advance if you can’t fill your assignment, and keeping confidences about the place where you work, just as you would on a paid job.  

For the supervisors at these organizations, we have an important piece of advice: treat your volunteers as employees, respecting their contributions and showing appreciation for the hours and service donated. A simple “thank you” or “job well done” or “thanks for coming in on this snowy day” are often enough to keep the volunteer happy and reduce the loss of valuable workers.

We’ve heard complaints recently from two volunteers about board members of organizations who sometimes forget they are not lords of the manor and the volunteers serfs down at the bottom of the moat!  We ask that they try to remember that many of your humble white-haired volunteers in sneakers were once stiletto-heeled executives who owned their own companies, taught hundreds of children, or rode herd on large families. Or maybe they led troops of workers in large corporations or armies. They have skills, intelligence and invaluable life experience and now they are giving your organization the benefit of all those assets.

Best of all, for the volunteers themselves, volunteering has been said to help lower rates of depression and improve recovery time from illness.  According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, “…for older Americans to experience health benefits they need to give, on average, one or two hours weekly to charity.” That’s not much to ask for the enhancement of your community and your own well being. So check out the volunteer “help wanted” columns in your newspaper, or get back to your favorite place to volunteer and make life better for yourself and your community.