These are dark and uncertain times. I’m often overwhelmed by news of yet another deliberate cruelty or falsehood presented as fact by the current administration. I sometimes feel there is little I can do to effect change and a return to what I’ve always thought were basic American values: honesty, empathy, and care for each other.
I’ve found an excellent way to combat my discouragement by focusing on extending kindness to other people. Many of my neighbors are being hurt by government actions; helping them is an act of resistance. We contribute to local food bands in response to the government’s refusal to fund basic services for families who don’t have food.
My concern for the decimation of public schools by the Texas State Legislature’s recent move to create a school voucher system and deplete public education funds leads me to volunteer with children in an area Title I school to build reading skills. Recently, our governor and the Department of Public Safety callously cleared homeless camps and arrested many unhoused citizens. In response, I will continue volunteering with Mobile Loaves and Fishes to prepare and serve meals to individuals in Austin who need food. I will contribute to their community housing project for the chronically homeless.
I know my efforts have limited reach. When I was teaching, I sometimes felt that little I did with my students made a difference. I told my principal how discouraged I felt one day, and she told me the story of a man walking on a beach covered with starfish stranded by the tide. As he walked, he would pick up a starfish and throw it back into the water. Someone asked him why it mattered to throw one starfish back when there were so many, and the man replied, ”It matters to this one.” One at a time doesn’t feel that effective but those acts of kindness can add up over time.
My interest in serving others through community volunteering has been deep-seated and evident throughout my life. It’s fulfilling to realize you’ve assisted another person to get through their day; sometimes you’ve equipped them for life.
This is why I’m embarking on a new book called “Volunteerism in Older Adults” for Lived Places Publishing, the same publisher I’ve worked with since last summer. The publisher’s catalog is divided into various collections, which provide course reading materials for university students in a variety of programs. My book will be included in the Aging Studies Collection.
My plan is to interview several people who regularly devote a portion of their time to community volunteering. I want to know what inspires them to give of their time and talents, how it rewards them, what challenges they face, and more. In addition to those who participate in formal volunteering with an organization or program, I want to speak with those who engage in informal volunteering. That may include activities like mowing an elderly neighbor’s lawn, babysitting for grandchildren, grocery shopping for wheelchair-bound neighbor, or bringing food to a friend with cancer.
Older adults tend to be less connected than their younger, working peers. As a result, loneliness among older persons is now considered at epidemic levels, according to a report from the National Institutes of Health. One way to avoid loneliness is to connect with other people via volunteering. Forming new relationships is an excellent way to combat a lonely life. Feeling useful is also a valuable benefit.
In later life, adults have gained wisdom and skills useful to serving their neighbors and their communities. Unfortunately, they often feel ignored or irrelevant when they’re no longer employed. After retirement, however, many people have more time to devote to causes about which they care deeply. Older adults, through one act at a time, can contribute enormously to meeting the needs of others.
For my new project, I’m in the process of identifying people over 55 to interview and would be thrilled if you can recommend someone! I’d also like to know of a volunteer program I could contact to find interview subjects, too.
Volunteering to help others feeds my soul and I would bet this is true for a good many others, no matter their age. I look forward to hearing their stories.
Janice Airhart 