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INVOLVING OLDER VOLUNTEERS, NORMALISING DIFFERENCE
Three top tips to involving older volunteers.
18 July 2023
By
Ruth Leonard, Katherine Deane, Mike Locke, Jurgen Grotz
Three top tips for involving older volunteers and to start normalising difference:
• Start by understanding complex persons!
• Start by considering shifting purposes!
• Start by exploring uncertain endings!
On Thursday 06 July 2023, the Institute for Volunteering Research organised a symposium entitled ‘Co-creating solutions to barriers in volunteer involvement of and for older adult volunteers’, at the Annual Research Conference of the British Society of Gerontology at the University of East Anglia.
What we set out to do?
In this symposium we wanted to assess and discuss the physical, personal, organisational and structural barriers to volunteering for older volunteers. The format of this symposium was deliberately co-productive, involving academics, practitioners and people with lived experience, exploring knowledges and experiences from different perspectives.
Why is this important?
Many older people are involved as volunteers. However, levels of involvement are changing. As the Centre for Ageing Better put it in 2018, ‘The challenge we face is not to engage more people in later life in community contribution, but to make sure people in later life can continue to contribute’. Furthermore, the pandemic exacerbated existing social, political, cultural and economic barriers as well as creating new ones. Such barriers do not just relate to age alone but also to health, income, ethnicity and other contributory factors. Consideration of the physical, personal, organisational and structural barriers is required now, so we can create solutions to them in this ‘new normal’.
Key points of learning
Exploring barriers to volunteer involvement for older volunteers is extremely complex as physical, personal, organisational structural barriers affect individuals in many diverse ways. Yet, in our discussion, within this complexity, three themes emerged, all relating to a simple overarching learning point: solutions to barriers can only be found if those who are experiencing them are involved in finding solutions, from beginning to end.
• Inclusively involving older people in creating solutions.
Older people want to become involved, and organisations want to involve them. When developing volunteer involvement opportunities we should expect meaningful involvement of older people, co-producing solutions with them as experts by experience. This will enable us to better understand differences as old people are not all the same and do not experience the same barriers.
If volunteer involvement opportunities are developed without such involvement, they are likely to present many more barriers.
• Sharing purposes
Volunteer involvement can be good for the wellbeing of older people but only if it is a good experience. In order to ensure a good experience understanding and agreeing shared purposes is important.
If involving volunteers is done badly, for example, in an exploitative way, the reverse is likely.
• Preparing for uncertainty
Involving volunteers can include supporting people through life’s transitions. Such transitions can both act as a reason to become involved and also a trigger to withdraw. When coming to terms with change and uncertainty, volunteer involvement can be flexible and should explore opportunities.
However, especially if a task is in the forefront of preparing for volunteering, rather than the view of the volunteers, the volunteers might experience a feeling of excessive obligation. That can mean they will not even start because they are afraid that they cannot quit, and that more is being asked of them than they want to be involved with.
Summary
If we want to make sure people in later life can continue to contribute through volunteer involvement, we will need to find solutions to barriers. We will need to normalise difference by understanding complex people, exploring shared aims and acknowledging the effects of change. In practice we suggest three top tips for involving older volunteers and normalising difference:
• Start by understanding complex persons!
• Start by considering shifting purposes!
• Start by exploring uncertain endings!
And remember, volunteer involvement should be making a difference, and should also always be little bit of fun.
The Provocation and the recording of the session are available to view. We recognise that the sound quality in the recording is poor but wanted to make it available.
Let us know what you think by emailing info.ivr@uea.ac.uk
The participation of Ruth Leonard, Mike Locke and Jurgen Grotz was funded by the Institute for Volunteering Research
The time of Katherine Deane (UEA) and Jurgen Grotz (UEA) was also supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration East of England (NIHR ARC EoE) at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the author[s] and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.’
'IF THE KIDS ARE UNITED'
The role of volunteering in participation and democracy
7 June 2021
by Dr Jurgen Grotz
Director - Institute of Volunteering Research
As the director of the Institute for Volunteering Research (IVR) I was my privilege to facilitate a webinar with six outstanding colleagues, Ewen Speed (University of Essex), Lucy Hogg (Voluntary Norfolk), Stan Papoulias (Service User Research Enterprise, King's College London), Jarina Choudhury (National Council for Voluntary Organisations) Mary Sadid (National Survivor User Network), Ben Little (University of East Anglia).
The way they shared their varied experiences and knowledges and how they were prepared to listen to each other and explore ideas together lifted my heart. I am also very grateful to Ewen Speed who helped to organise the webinar. We are collaborating in the NIHR ARC East of England, which supports some of our work about Patient and Public Involvement in Research. But of course, the views expressed here and in the webinar are those of the participants, and not necessarily those of the NIHR, NHS or Department of Health and Social Care.
I was opening the event with music by Sham 69, an English punk band from the 70s. The lyrics of their song ‘If the kids are united’, released more than 40 years ago, inspired me to critically review the way we talk about volunteering.
Just take a look around you; what do you see
Participants offered many examples of ways volunteers are involved that contribute to democracy. That might be as campaigners, as people who support services and policy makers with their lived experience, as trade union representatives, as trustees of charities and governors of schools and so many more. In this context they identified a number of serious challenges, for example, of making the distinction between paid and unpaid labour and voluntary action.
I don't want to be rejected; I don't want to be denied
The discussion quickly turned to pressing societal topics, in particular inequality and lack of diversity. When participants explored the concept of volunteering as an obligation, as a right or as a privilege, it became clear that current narratives lack critical perspectives on the privilege of volunteering. Privilege, for example, relating to individuals needing time and resources to volunteer. The resulting inequalities and exclusion appear so profound that even a focus on anti-oppressive practice may not, alone, offer a solution.
If we all stand together; it will just be the start
As several of the panellists are based in universities and, or are working towards Patient and Public Involvement in Health and Social Care and associated research, they intend to challenge their institutions to respond to those profound inequalities. But together we may need to challenge all those seeking to involve volunteers, not just from the voluntary but also the public and the private sectors, to explore the oppressing consequences of institutionalised volunteerism. Together we might need to critically review prevailing attitudes and practices, policies and programmes, in order to overcome long standing and persisting inequality, working together towards new beginnings.
Summary
At the Institute for Volunteering Research, we say that everything we do should be at least a little bit joyful. For me, despite the difficult topic and the very challenging conversation, facilitating this conversation was one of the most joyful parts of my week. Not because what we are doing is easy, or because we have found any solutions, but because we were setting out together to explore afresh the role of volunteering in participation and democracy.
I received an email with feedback I want to share because that is what IVR stands for and why I am so glad to be part of it. “Yesterday was excellent, with an outstanding panel, articulate wonderful spread of approaches and informed, disciplined but passionate discussion of major issues. Especially helpful for someone like me, actively involved but with often unfocussed views on any larger scale: I learned so much.” Heather Edwards, Norwich).
Join us when we continue to critically explore the narratives around volunteering.
The panellists were kind enough to record position statements to help us get the conversation started. I find them very powerful, so I encourage you to view them if you are interested in the role of volunteering in participation and democracy.
Let us know what you think by emailing info.ivr@uea.ac.uk