Involvement in Voluntary Organizations: How Older Adults Access Volunteer Roles?

This study examines how older adults access organizational volunteer roles and what socio-structural factors are associated with the access. Using the data from the Current Population Survey (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, 2002), bivariate analyses show that there are variations in access to volunteer roles across types of organizations. Results from multinomial logistic regressions indicate that education, income, age, and race are associated with the ways that older adults access volunteer roles. Voluntary organizations are advised to approach older adults directly, use current volunteers to recruit potential ones, publicize their organizational goals, and disseminate relevant information in efforts to improve access of older adults to volunteer roles.