Recruiting Senior Adult Volunteers for Intergenerational Programs: Working to Create a "Jump on the Bandwagon" Effect

Abstract

The societal trend toward intergenerational programming refers to structured activities or programs that promote and support skills exchange and meaningful interaction between generations. With the recent surge of intergenerational program initiatives, this phenomenon can be considered an emergent human services movement. One area of intergenerational program development that does not appear to have received adequate attention in the literature, however, is senior adult volunteer recruitment. This article provides an overview of different senior adult volunteer recruitment strategies and addresses the challenge of recruiting a steady flow of motivated volunteers. It argues for reconceptualizing volunteer recruitment as a multistep process, one in which senior adults can sample what it is like to interact with, and learn about, youth before deciding whether to join an intergenerational program.