Make a Difference From Your Home

Seniors can provide the much needed time, experience and expertise that can benefit any organization. A growing number of retirees are already providing this benefit according to a study by Independent Sector — a non-profit organization that promotes charitable giving. They reported that 44% of retirees age 55 and over volunteered at least once a year. Over 51% of those that did volunteer gave more than four hours of their time each week.

If you have time constraints or other obligations that prevent you from getting involved, the solution is virtual volunteering. There are a number of databases that can match your skills with those needed by non-profit organizations. Many of these opportunities require email and online access, but there are also remote volunteering options (like knitting socks for the homeless or fostering animals) that require very little technology.

To find out how you can help, try these websites: VolunteerMatch (www.volunteer match.org), Idealist (www.idealist.org), United Nations Online Volunteering Service (www.onlinevolunteering.org), and Network for Good (www.networkforgood.org). For offline volunteering, try your local ASPCA, Red Cross, or place of worship.