Following up on our story about getting rid of old people to make room for younger ones is this story “Can we get some volunteers, please?”:
The latest figures show that 23.4 million age 45 to 64 volunteered last year, down from 23.9 million in 2011. The percentage who volunteered dropped to 29.3 percent, from 30.6 percent, for those age 45 to 54 and to 27.6 percent, from 28.1 percent, for Americans 55 to 64.
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There’s no simple explanation, of course. We’re busy. We need to focus on hanging onto our jobs. We have obligations to our kids and parents. All true.
But I think a key reason is that many boomers haven’t found ways they can volunteer the way they want to, by putting their talents and skills to use, rather than by stuffing envelopes, answering phones and donating food.