Some have social fiber all their lives, others only acquire it when they come face to face with the idleness that generally accompanies retirement. Be that as it may, what is certain is that seniors are, in France, the champions of all categories of volunteering. It is that there are a myriad of reasons motivating this commitment, besides the excess of free time. And for those who then wish to continue to make themselves useful, volunteering remains the most obvious and direct way to do so in this respect... you still have to know where to start!
How to find and join an association? What can I serve them? How much time should you devote to it to have an impact? Here are some questions that may go through the minds of aspiring volunteers, and which for some may turn out to be - wrong! — disheartening. We offer you some answers.
Why the hell, once you have reached retirement and the well-deserved rest at the end of a long active life, plunge headlong into a new activity, this one not even paid? Of course, volunteering responds to needs and desires that are quite distinct from those, pecuniary, linked to the world of employment. Because if commitment often responds to a desire for altruism, this does not exclude more individual motivations. With the start of retirement, we often find ourselves more isolated, but also sometimes idle - two evils that a commitment to associations can help to combat. In addition, these recently retired seniors are welcome, since they can use their skills acquired during their professional life in the service of the voluntary activities to which they devote themselves.
For these reasons, many seniors take up volunteering. And the more time passes, the more they are likely to represent a large part of the people who dedicate their time to it. Indeed, they constitute a growing part of the population, and are in better health and physical shape than the generations of seniors who preceded them. There is now a real life between the end of the active life and the third age, which must be filled and satisfied, and a voluntary activity represents in this respect an ideal way to link the useful with the pleasant. That said, the involvement of seniors in associations has, at least in proportion, declined in recent years – and this is due to growing precariousness among this population. It is in response to this that certain platforms have been created to facilitate their connection with associations adapted to their desires for commitment.
So you want to get involved. Good ! But volunteering is as diverse as the professional world. There are an infinite number of associations with just as varied objectives:it's up to you to find the one that suits you. For this, there are online platforms, simply putting volunteer candidates in contact with associations, offering the choice among various fields of interest, and according to criteria such as availability, type of activity or level of expertise. These platforms work almost on the same model as that of professional social networks, with young retirees indicating their skills in such and such areas, and therefore being willing to be contacted by associations that could make good use of them.
However, most of the engagement is more direct. Simply find out about the associations that exist nearby and their needs. There are online resources for this. For example, the site of France Bénévolat, an association whose purpose is precisely to promote and facilitate the practice of volunteering, makes it easy to find assignments. The association also has a national network of antennas, allowing less digital natives seniors to get this information online. For your information, all associations in France (with the exception of those in Moselle, Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin) are listed in the RNA, the National Directory of Associations.
Once you are better informed about the opportunities around you, it is up to you to choose the association that suits you. To do this, ask yourself the right questions:why do you want to volunteer, for example? Is it to fight against a social problem or a cause that seems unfair to you, for example, or above all for fear of getting bored once you reach retirement and its abundance of free time, or even in order to re-establish a bond social, too perhaps somewhat damaged by the accession to retirement? In the first case, you will naturally be more inclined to choose an association linked to the cause that is close to your heart, while for the others, it will perhaps be proximity and the possibility of human contact that will prevail. Anyway, keep in mind that there is no right or wrong reason to get into the non-profit sector.
Finally, know that you do not need to be an engineer or a doctor of anything to get involved in associations. With more than 1.3 million associations on the national territory, in other words that, as in the professional world, everyone can contribute thanks to their own skills, and that small hands are as much if not more necessary than others. . Likewise, any help is always appreciated, whether it comes several times a week or only on a very ad hoc basis. In short, you should not feel limited by your skills or your schedule to get started in volunteering:it is motivation that counts above all! Senior volunteering can be seen in a way as the application of a socialist way of life, in which individuals provided with a basic income - here our pensioners - would now be free to devote their time to activities that are close to their hearts — following the Marxist adage, "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
If your desire to act is above all driven by an interest in a particular cause, the easiest way to get involved seems to be to join one of the large associations already dedicated to it. For example, everyone is familiar with the Restos du Coeur or the Secours Populaire, which come to the aid of the poorest. As far as international solidarity is concerned, the Red Cross or Oxfam are also key players, each with a particular angle. Ecology is not left out:we can mention among the best known the WWF or Greenpeace. And so on:child protection, help for refugees and migrants, help for the LGBTQI community or even… for the elderly! Unfortunately, these are not the evils to heal that are lacking in our society.
So much for the most important ones, which are generally distributed throughout the national territory. The associations mentioned here are just a few examples among others, and it's a safe bet that you already know one or more associations dedicated to the causes that are close to your heart. If the bigger and better known ones don't seem to suit you for some reason, looking into the subject should soon bring up other leads. These causes are of course also defended at the local level by smaller associations. A simple entry on search engines such as, for example, "ecology" or simply "volunteering", followed by the name of your municipality or department, should allow you to easily find local associations. You can also find them using the online resources mentioned above. These resources will then allow you to see how, using your skills and according to your availability, you can make yourself useful to this cause.
Finally, keep in mind that even for lack of time or energy, there are other ways to support associations. One of the most obvious, if you can afford it, is of course the gift of money, which for many of them is the sinews of war. But here again, any form of donation is appreciated, so keep in mind that products can also be very useful, whether it is clothes, furniture or even food products. Finally, talking around you about the causes that affect you and raising awareness of the activities of an association or around a problem is also an important act of activism. In short, you will understand, every small step counts, and the associative world is waiting for you to welcome you with open arms.
