“Senior volunteers are very, very critical because they are friends of other seniors. They reach out to them, they are familiar faces, they’re the trusted faces,” she said.
“So with that, we have insight to the seniors and we can do the curation of programmes that suit their needs best.”
TECH-SAVVY SENIORS
Ms Wee said their engagement efforts, especially in attracting seniors well-versed in digital skills, have paid off, with more literate and tech-savvy retirees coming on board recently.
“(This) is very important for us, because this is the pool of people who we can tap on to serve the other seniors,” she said.
The rising trend of tech-savvy senior volunteers has allowed the organisation to expand its reach, and make use of social media platforms dominated by the young, she added.
RSVP said it has seen keen interest from the Merdeka generation who are in their 60s and early 70s.
“They are more tech-savvy, more educated and to a certain extent, financially stable. So these people are more willing to come forward. However, having said that, they usually volunteer on more what we call ad-hoc, or episodic case,” said chairman of RSVP Koh Juay Meng.
WHY THEY VOLUNTEER
Among the senior volunteers is Ms June Chen. At the age of 67, she still has the moves and puts them to good use by guiding other seniors at a weekly Zumba class held at the Lions Befrienders Service Association.
She was a student herself once.
“Lions Befrienders … approached me to start to do exercise first. That is how I got to know people around my age, and that’s how I pull them in. And to be with them, I think, is a blessing,” Ms Chen said.
Another senior volunteer, 68-year-old Ling Lik Kwok, is looking to break the norm.