A new year is a great time to talk about volunteering
by Warren Wolfe
Warren Wolfe served as a reporter for the Star Tribune for more than 40 years. He and his wife are graduates of VAN’s Evolve program, and he is very involved in organizations focused on aging across our community. He lives in Roseville.
There’s plenty of research that makes this clear: When you volunteer, you improve the quality – and maybe even the length – of your life.
Successful aging is a process of continuing to do what you’ve done since birth, adapting to change. The need doesn’t diminish as you grow older. The tools include staying physically and mentally active, eating a healthy diet, cultivating friendships, and staying engaged with the people and world around you.
A good friend turned 94 recently. His wife died a few years ago, and he talked about how it’s been harder during the COVID-19 pandemic to stay engaged with people in his senior living complex when residents couldn’t have visitors, not even each other.
“It’s harder, but you have to do it. If you want to be happy, you have to find reasons to get up in the morning, to have a purpose in living,” he said at a church men’s group meeting recently – one of his many activities. “I know volunteer stuff keeps me moving, but it also just makes me feel good, like I still matter.”
He also donates blood and has organized blood drives at his church, walks and works out regularly, sings in a choir where he lives and escorts a man with early dementia to the practices, “meets” regularly through his computer with his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, and has been mentoring fellow residents who seem to be withering under the pandemic.
My friend illustrates how volunteerism can be a combination of helping agencies that do good work, and simply being a good friend and neighbor.
Looking for a place to start? You can look for opportunities at churches, libraries, community centers, nursing homes, child-care centers, food shelves and other nonprofits. Many offer a range of opportunities matching your skills, with flexible hours and commitments.
Or you can do a computer search for volunteer opportunities in your community. Here are two websites that can help:
Volunteer Match – Type in the name of your community.
Hands On Twin Cities — Lists many specific opportunities.
Editor’s note: Below, find information about Susan Maples’ volunteer experience and about how you can volunteer for other engaging projects