Older Aussies are being urged to start volunteering to stave off boredom in retirement, as a critical shortage is affecting the country
A poll of n<a href="https://healthylife7.com/early-americans-pioneered-the-keto-diet/” title=”Early Americans Pioneered the Keto Diet”>early 1,000 Yahoo Lifestyle readers found 26 per cent of retirees are struggling with having nothing to do in their twilight years
After working for decades and having a long-held routine that fills most of your week, retirement can be a lonely, dull reality where every day is Saturday, but not in a good way
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But South Australian retiree David Moore has found the perfect solution to this problem
The 69-year-old told Yahoo Lifestyle he’s been volunteering nearly every week since he finished up his job in fashion in 2016
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“For some people, retirement is like a bottomless pit,” he said. “If work is your life and you stop work, you have no life
“But if you volunteer once or twice a week, that gives you an anchor and then you work around that with other days.”
Do you have a retirement story to tell? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com
Volunteering can be an incredibly rewarding experience
David spends part of his week volunteering at Tree for Life, a South Australian-based association that restores and protects the local natural landscape
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The retiree said they’re usually weeding, planting, and digging throughout his community, which helps him get outdoors, stay active, learn new skills, and interact with others
He’s even found a great group of like-minded mates through this form of volunteering
“You get a lot of people in your own age, so there’s a peer group of people to talk to,” he said
He also volunteers at an aged care facility, where he and other volunteers chat to the residents, keep them company, and help them with the facility’s lifestyle activities
It’s usually half or two-thirds of a day, and sometimes it’s at the facility, or he’ll ride on the minibus with the residents during a day out
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He said it’s incredibly rewarding for both him and the people he interacts with
“Elderly people have lost most of their plans through age and might have family that don’t come to see them or don’t live nearby enough to come to see them,” he said
“And you usually come home on a high.”
Why Baby Boomers should get out and volunteer
What’s interesting about volunteering is that it can be overlooked by retirees
Statista compiled a list of the most popular hobbies among retired people in the US and the UK, and volunteering didn’t even make the list
Instead, it was things like reading, cooking and baking, travelling, looking after pets, and DIY and arts and crafts
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But David said organisations, charities, and groups across the nation are crying out for volunteers
“It is something that is in huge demand,” he said. “Without a volunteer workforce, a lot of places would struggle to function.”
Two years after the pandemic hit, nearly two million people in Australia quit volunteering, according to the University of Western Australia, and it’s been a struggle ever since to get those numbers back
But the number of volunteers has been steadily declining for much longer
Data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed volunteering hit its peak in 2010, with 36 per cent of people over 18 taking part. The latest from 2024 shows that the number has fallen to 28 per cent
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Interestingly, Volunteering Australia statistics show that the 45 to 54 age group has the highest participation rate in volunteering at 28 per cent. Baby Boomers
The 65 and over crowd is the third highest at 25 per cent, behind the 35 to 44 group on 27.1 per cent
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