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Organizational And Older Adult Volunteer Perspectives On Role Conflict Management Strategies, Jennifer Crittenden, Sandy Butler

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

Poster presentation at the Gerontological Society of America Conference

Presentation Date: November 13, 2019

Presentation Location: Austin, TX

Older adults are increasingly occupying multiple life roles, including working, caregiving, and volunteering, creating the opportunity for role conflict. Such conflict occurs when stress and strain created by the demands of multiple life roles outstrips an individual’s resources to successfully manage such demands.

A two-phase research study was completed with 1,697 Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) volunteers (ages 55+) drawn from 55 RSVP program sites across the country (Phase I) with a follow-up survey of RSVP programs conducted with 17 sites …

Getting The Most Out Of Your Volunteer Experience: Tips For Older Workers, Jennifer Crittenden

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

This tipsheet provides helpful hints and tips for older workers who are either currently volunteering or wish to become involved in volunteer activities. Tips focus on strategies for juggling multiple responsibilities and reaping the benefits of volunteering.

Vying For Time: How Programs Engage And Support A Busy Cadre Of Baby Boomer And Older Adult Volunteers, Jennifer Crittenden, Sandy Butler

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

For many nonprofits, older adult volunteers are the bedrock of the volunteer workforce. However, older adults are increasingly leaving their volunteer work to pursue paid employment and family caregiving. To explore how the volunteer sector has responded to this reality, a survey was distributed to 55 Retired and Senior Volunteer Programs (RSVPs) across the U.S. Twenty-one programs responded identifying a range of strategies including: flexible scheduling, integrating care recipients into volunteer assignments, offering resource referral to caregivers, and expanded office hours for older workers. Findings provide strategies that can be replicated across program sectors to retain older adult volunteers.

Getting The Most Out Of Your Volunteer Experience: Tips For Caregivers, Jennifer Crittenden

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

This tipsheet provides helpful hints and tips for older adult caregivers who are either currently volunteering or wish to become involved in volunteer activities. Tips focus on strategies for juggling multiple responsibilities and reaping the benefits of volunteering.

Supporting Older Workers And Caregivers: Tips For Volunteer Managers, Jennifer Crittenden

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

Volunteering has been linked to a number of positive outcomes for older adults such as good health and mental health, social connections, and a sense of purpose. However, older adults are increasingly giving their time to paid work, caregiving, and other important endeavors. For many older adults, especially those who are employed and those who are caring for loved ones, finding the time to volunteer can be a challenge. Volunteer programs can encourage older adults to volunteer by offering flexible and appealing program options for these two groups.

This tipsheet provides helpful hints and tips for volunteer managers for helping …

Role Enhancement For Older Volunteers: How Does Formal Volunteering Complement Other Life Roles?, Jennifer Crittenden, Sandy Butler

Maine Center on Aging Research and Evaluation

This poster presentation reviews findings from a recent national survey of older adult RSVP volunteers that examined role conflict and role enhancement among active older adult volunteers. Survey findings are presented along with implications for volunteer program administrators for how they can best engage with volunteers who are juggling additional life role responsibilities (paid work, caregiving, and informal helping/volunteering) in addition to their formal volunteer role.

The phase I survey for this project was implemented across 55 RSVP program sites nationally engaging a total of 1,697 older adult volunteer who returned surveys (response rate = 25%). These surveys yielded 1,229 …