New Age Active Senior Volunteerism
According to a recent research by National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)*, Singaporeans give (or volunteer) differently per their life stages. The first period was described as the youth period (15 to 34 years of age), followed-by mid-lifers (35 to 49 years of age) and active Seniors (more than 50 years of age).
The first group were active givers, giving time way above national average for most years since 2008, but they volunteered less regularly (defined as weekly or monthly) and in shorter hours. The second group gave less intensively in terms of time although the percentage of volunteers who gave regularly their time was closed to the national average. And for active seniors, they were mostly avid and committed givers. Their average volunteering hours and regularity were way above national average.
In recent times, at Blossom Seeds, in a spur of serendipity, we asked one of our contacts who was based in United States to help us with some level of data entry including data quality checks, some excel formulation set-up type of volunteering support. We contacted and briefed her about what she (a Singaporean active senior who happen to be quite tech savvy) needed to do through whatsapp and started sharing files through our online collaborative platform. There was no face to face or any whatsapp calls made throughout.
With the advent of mobile working, Singaporeans travelling, working and relocation being the norm these days, we thought, this could add on as an alternate way of volunteerism, especially for the next generation of Seniors. By tapping on technology, the online contribution space serves as an additional avenue for them to continue to stay in touch with the Singapore community at large. As for our contact, she has plans to return to Singapore in time to come.
*Source: https://www.nvpc.org.sg/resources/the-singapore-giver-a-life-stage-perspective
