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~------- Older Volunteer Participation in Community Life Task Force Report, June, 1969 The Task Force was comprised of five retired or semi-retired persons with known skills and varied background e xperience. They were employed on a part-time basis, during June, to assist Senior Citizen Services with the following tasks: 1. Explore e x isting volunteer service opportunities which may be suitable for the involvement of older volunteers as well as of the .more traditional age groups. 2. Suggest new and untried service opportunities that might be developed by Senior Citizens and/or other agencies and organizations. 3. Contact sources of older volunteer recruits, or potential recruits, through organized groups and individual contacts. This was not intended as a specific recruitment effort, but rather a testing of attitudes toward, and interest in, participation as opportunities come to light. 4. Interpret the Educational Motivation school program now in the planning ~tages with the Atlanta School System. 5. Report fi n dings to Senior Citizen Services fo r comment and future prog ram planning efforts , includi ng the Model Cities Pr ogram. Assignments were assumed by the Ta s k Force of a contact area with whi ch they were familia r ically. However, d if f erent a n d varie d e c onomi c were reached . A mo r e deta iled r eport t o f o llow of service oppor tuni t ies and volunteer i n te re st serve in appr opriate r o l e s. worker s on th e ba si s rathe r than g e ograph levels o f the commu n i ty wil l r e flect the range and wil l i~gness to A ve ry b ri ef summary of f i nd ings suggests the following: 1. Nursing Homes, with o ne o r t wo e xceptions, can and will we lc ome the skills an d intere st of older volunteers and will assure proper a ssig nme nts and supervision. The s ame is true of the two l arg e hospitals visit e d and other institutions conc e rne d with mental and physical health. 2. Elementary Schools in low-income areas reiteriated their d e sire to involve older persons in one - to - one relationships �with slow learners and with children lacking motivation . A limited number of older individuals e xpressed interest in this type of service. 3. Public Housing , High-rise Apartments and contiguous communities - produced a vast need for personalized services and comparable interest in giving service to others by many residents. Simple service needs e.g., friendly visiting, home delivered meals, transportation to church and to markets, telephone re-assurance and others were obvious. 4. Churches and related organizations were most enthusiastic about a movement which would engage many of their older members in other than so-called social clubs. By and large, each congregation cares for its own but has not moved beyond this concept in favor of serving the community at large. 5. The Task Force workers report a receptive attitude toward the utilization of older volunteers and a surprising number of retire.es were pleased, others somewhat surprised, to learn that there are roles and opportunities f or them in this big Atlanta metropolitan area. 6. The ever-present problem of transportation ava i labi lity and cost is, and will be, a deterent u nl ess s p e cial attention is given to ways and means o f o vercoming it . In conclusion - Senior Citizen Services wil l work closely with the newly established Volunteer Bureau of the Community Council to assure the involvement of Older Volunteers a n d wi ll strengthen the volunteer se r vice corps concept as a built - i n d i mensio n of its own agency prog r a ms . Elsie C. Alvis Task Fo rce Director �