Do you know of anybody in their 40's who do volunteer work?

Question

I want to volunteer but it seems like when you hear about people volunteering it's always college kids or senior citizens. Will I be stick out like a sore thumb?

Answer 1

im sure that hungry homeless person standing in line at the soup kitchen  will just be  happy that  you care enough to help and will never even give your age a thought.If you care enough about the cause you are supporting,your insecurities wont prevent you from helping.dont be afraid of sticking out,be afraid of chickening out

Answer 2

Heck, no! I know tons of volunteers in this age range. I'll be there myself, next year. My Rottie is a therapy dog and we visit nursing homes 2-3 times a month and our church's social ministry, which has a broad age-range, is very active in the community, running soup kitchens, various fund raising events and the like.

Have a look at your local Red Cross office, as well. There are a lot of seniors there, true, but they rely heavily on the younger set for disaster relief work and the like.

Mothers around this age are volunteering for the READ program at the elementary schools and libraries. All your Boy/Girl Scout and 4-H advisers are volunteers and often come in this age group.

I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the point. Find something you are passionate about and join in whole-heartedly. Don't worry about sticking out or what others think even if you ARE the only 40-year old about.

Answer 3

No way! People of all ages volunteer. I volunteered at a soup kitchen for 4 years, and everyone else besides me was between 40 and 55. The same went for when I volunteered at the SPCA. Of course depending on what you decide to do, you could be the oldest one... or the youngest one.

I think you hear about the college students and seniors because they're the ones with time - they don't have kids or other things like that. But, lots of people in their 40s volunteer! Go for it!

Answer 4

People volunteer at all ages.  Those others are more common because they may not have full time jobs.  The college kids are just getting started and the senior citizens are retired.  Any age is needed and useful though!