Public Servant Lifestyle

Those who grew up crunching Spangles, and watching Muffin the Mule and Andy Pandy, are being targeted in a new government-backed campaign to recruit older volunteers.

New research shows volunteering reaches a peak by age 49 and then declines. The Experience Corps is being launched to boost the number of older volunteers, by encouraging people aged 50+ to offer their skills and life experience to benefit others.

Volunteering

But as the Home Secretary, David Blunkett launched this £20m boost to volunteering, he also warned local authorities not to cut funding to the hundreds of small voluntary and community organisations up and down the country. "The Experience Corps aims to run the largest campaign this country has ever seen to recruit people over the age of 50, who want to give their time and experience but may not know where to start," David Blunkett said. "The Experience Corps has been granted the largest amount of money the Home Office has ever given to a new volunteering venture. It has a target of attracting 250,000 volunteers by March 2004."

Advance figures (from the Home Office Citizenship Survey), show that all sorts of community activities peak by age 49:

- 44% of people aged 40 - 49 have some kind of civic involvement - signing petitions, contacting the council, attending public meetings, etc. This declines to 43% of 50 - 64 year olds and 34% of those aged 65 plus.

- 73% of people 49 and under are involved in informal volunteering - giving unpaid help to a non relative. This declines to 65% for 50 - 64 year olds and 55% of those 65 plus.

- 44% of people 40 - 49 and under are involved in formal volunteering - giving unpaid help to a group or organisation. This declines to 40% for the 50 - 64 year olds and 32% of those 65 plus.

But, although fewer older people are involved, if they do volunteer:

They do it more regularly - with the oldest group, 65 + volunteering the most regularly (at least once a month) of all the age groups (75% compared to 68% overall).

Those aged 50 plus and involved in formal volunteering, were more likely than any other age group to get involved in visiting and befriending people, volunteering through local community or neighbourhood groups or citizens' groups, or areas concerning the elderly or religious groups.

Experience

Experience Corps chief executive Maggie Semple said: "The Experience Corps is about showing people over 50 that they are needed by their local communities precisely because of the life skills and experiences they have gained. It is not just about professional skills but also experience gained through everything that we encounter in life such as bringing up a family, coping with illness or sticking with a personal interest or hobby. We believe that every single person in this age group has an experience they can pass on."

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