Promoting volunteerism in later life in Hong Kong

Abstract

Volunteering offers great promise for the productive engagement of Hong Kong's ageing population. This paper begins with an overview of older adult volunteering in Hong Kong, including policy development and volunteer management. The focus of the paper is the low participation rate, which is the lowest among all age groups in Hong Kong, and is also lower than those of most developed societies. The reasons for this low level of participation will be examined by drawing on empirical studies and considering cultural factors. The goal is to identify the pull and push factors in the recruitment and retention of older volunteers. The paper concludes with recommendations on promoting volunteerism that is a win-win situation, both meeting older volunteers’ self-oriented needs (e.g. acquiring new knowledge, contributing their own skills) and serving society through helping others.