‘Keeps me grateful’: how volunteering can help older adults

Hannah Seo
The Guardian | January 6, 2025

A growing body of research shows that volunteering and maintaining a sense of purpose and meaning in life provides older adults with a wide array of benefits to their physical and mental health. AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, conducted a two-year survey to see how volunteer programs for seniors affected participants. “Eighty-eight per cent of those volunteers felt like they had fewer feelings of being isolated after two years of volunteering,” says Atalaya Sergi, national director of AmeriCorps Seniors. “Eighty-four per cent of the volunteers also reported stable or improving health after they volunteered for about two years.” Read more in The Guardian.