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Tags: volunteer management volunteerism
Categories: Volunteer Management Review
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[Editor's note:  Part 2 is available online here.]

How do we talk to Baby Boomers about volunteering? With the Greatest Generation, those Americans who served in WWII and their contemporaries, we would appeal to their sense of civic duty. With Boomers a more promising approach is to talk about unexplored passions.

Boomers are now entering the third quarter of life. This period of 20 to 30 years following the winding down of a career and prior to the onset of true old age is characterized by a reinvention of the self. Now that the children are raised, a career established and some financial security gained, people in this stage of life seek to bring greater wholeness and balance to their lives. Passions that had to be set aside in the first half of life can now be explored in the service of creating a new life. Passions are simply those ideas, activities and objects that bring us the greatest fulfillment in life. They point the way to a more complete self and they are fueled by our inherent drive towards wholeness.

Volunteer managers can help potential baby boomer volunteers connect with their passions by asking questions like “what are your dreams for the next 20 years of your life” or “who is it you still want to become.” Providing Boomers with a checklist of the passions appearing below and asking them to indicate the two or three that are of most interest to them is another way to begin. Once passions have been identified, the next step is to translate them into volunteer activities.

Third Quarter of Life Passions and Volunteering

There are probably as many passions as people, but here are some passions that are particularly common in the third quarter of life.

Searching for Meaning. As we grow older, we may become more curious about the meaning of life as discussed in philosophy and religion. In their youth, Boomers were so committed to the search for meaning that many began experimenting with mind-altering drugs and exploring eastern religions. Volunteerism can be a path to meaning. Volunteering brings us into contact with people and issues we might otherwise not encounter. These experiences can cause us to re-evaluate long held beliefs and prejudices. In time, new beliefs may arise that are truer to our expanded experience of life. Volunteering with the disabled, aged, chronically ill or dying can bring questions of life’s meaning into sharp focus.

Pursuing Personal Growth. It is not uncommon to enter the third quarter of life having experienced the loss of a career, marriage or loved one. At this stage we may be finally ready to confront a lack of self-esteem, an addiction or other self-defeating behavior. Baby Boomers, who launched several liberation movements, read self-help books and were frequent visitors to the therapist’s office, are likely to intensify their search for personal growth in post-career life. Volunteering provides many opportunities for people to deepen their healing once it has begun to take place. A recovering alcoholic can work with other alcoholics. After a year of grieving, a widow or widower might be ready to volunteer with hospice, lead a support group or staff a hotline. A divorced women who is starting a new career after years of working in the home, may want to work with other women in transition.

Finding Meaningful Work. The third quarter of life is a time for establishing a new relationship with work. Boomers who have little savings, considerable debt and uncertain pensions are likely to work well into the traditional retirement years. However, work will be more on their terms. Serial employment (periods of work followed by periods of leisure), part-time work and starting small businesses will be common in the third quarter of life. Volunteering offers career changers opportunities to explore new career fields, try out new skills and gain work experience for their resumes. We can make our opportunities even more attractive to job seekers by partnering with trade schools or community colleges to provide certification.

Increasing Intimacy and Connectedness. In the third quarter of life people often seek to be closer to their families, particularly grandchildren. Workaholic, over-achieving Baby Boomers are likely to pursue this passion. Family volunteering is an excellent way for Boomers to get to know their own grandchildren while reaching out to others. Fifty-plus adults and their grandchildren can become co-pet therapists or co-friendly visitors. Boomers can volunteer in their grandchild’s school, scout group or sports team. They can volunteer with family to plant beach grass, clean up a city street or in any number of other one-time events.

This passion may also express itself as a search for community. Boomers, who once joined communes, may find in this later stage of life a desire to create communities that support their third quarter of life goals. Volunteer organizations might attract these Boomers by providing housing. A park, for example could offer free camping for RVs. A faith-based organization might fill any empty church building with volunteers in search of a more contemplative service community. Even if an organization cannot offer housing, there is much that can be done to deepen the sense of community in our organizations.

Continuing to Learn. Learning without the pressure of tests and degree requirements can become a great pleasure in the third quarter of life. For some, this will also be the time to return to school to earn a degree that will open doors to a new career. Boomers who are known for valuing education will likely pursue it both formally and informally in their post-career years. Whether it is tutoring, working in a museum, teaching, or researching recycling options, volunteering offers many opportunities for lifelong learning. Service is also the perfect accompaniment to classroom learning. Volunteer organizations can forge partnerships with trade schools and colleges to offer service-learning experiences, internships and perhaps even academic credit.

Pursuing Optimal Health. Staying healthy for as long as possible is a major concern of the third quarter of life. Given the Baby Boomers obsession with staying young, it is likely that they will want to engage in activities they see as contributing to a healthy lifestyle. Volunteer opportunities that involve teaching yoga or tai chi or providing massage or reiki to clients are likely to appeal to health-conscious Boomers. Jobs that involve mentoring youth through fitness or athletics could become popular. Organizations that can offer their volunteers free access to swimming pools, gymnasiums or exercise equipment may find they have a recruiting advantage.

Sustaining a Sense of Achievement. Some people miss the status, power and sense of achievement they enjoyed while working. Boomers, many of whom have held management or executive positions, may be attracted to opportunities such as management consulting, serving on a board or being a project leader. Entrepreneurial Boomers may come to us wanting to create new positions. We will all have to learn to be more flexible and accommodating. One day, many organizations may have a “social entrepreneur in residence.” Providing free office space, access to business equipment and training to social entrepreneurs could result in considerable long-term payoff.

Having fun, Traveling and Seeking Adventure. The third quarter of life is also a time for having fun. Baby Boomers may want to bring balance to their lives by being more playful and spontaneous. Opportunities involving playing with children or conducting activities with seniors could be of interest. Jobs working with youth involving white-water rafting or wilderness survival may appeal to the adventure-seeking Boomer. International volunteer organizations such as the Peace Corps, Global Volunteers and EarthWatch stand to benefit from the passion for travel in this stage of life. Local volunteer organizations can take advantage of this passion, too. For example, an organization might try inviting an RV club to volunteer for a special event or work out a volunteer exchange program among the affiliates of a large, national non-profit.

Leaving a Legacy.  Developmental psychologists tell us that a major task of later life is to be generative or to leave a legacy for future generations. In their youth, Baby Boomers clearly wanted to change the world and to make it a better place. Perhaps in the third quarter of life, Boomers will rediscover their activism as a consequence of the generative impulse. Of course, volunteerism provides many opportunities for leaving a legacy. Through volunteering, one can have a lasting impact on individuals, institutions and even communities. Mentoring, tutoring, teaching, environmental work, developing a service project, serving on a board or providing management consulting are just a few of the many ways in which volunteers can have lasting impact.