Motivations of elders who volunteer with youth in intergenerational programs

Intergenerational programs have been found to benefit both the youths and elders who participate in them. Successful programs that serve youth are dependent on obtaining sufficient older adult volunteers. However, program directors report a shortage of older volunteers, despite various recruitment methods. Understanding the motivations of older adults who volunteer for intergenerational programs may help recruiters more effectively secure additional elderly volunteers, and provide optimal volunteer experiences. Qualitative methods were used to study nineteen elderly volunteers who provide service to youth programs or projects. Results found that these elders wanted to contribute to the lives of youth, feel connected to others, including their grandchildren, through their volunteerism, and experience the energy, affection, challenge and joy of being with children. They also volunteered to decrease loneliness, apply pre-retirement skills, and learn about contemporary youth. Intergenerational program managers that can satisfy the motivational functions sought by volunteers may reap higher retention rates.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Hotel Administration

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

2001

Author dc:creator

• Stergios, Christine Alberta

Contributors dc:contributor

• Cynthia Carruthers

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/1262

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-2261