Abstract
- Many older adults engage in volunteer activities, drawing a sense of meaning, purpose, and generativity through such efforts. COVID-19 social distancing restrictions and regulations, put in place to reduce risk of transmission, disrupted the volunteer behaviors of active older adult volunteers. In this study we explored quality of life and loneliness among older adults who were active volunteers (i.e., at least an hour a week) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of social distancing on their volunteering behaviors one year into the pandemic. Participants maintained a high quality of life and low levels of loneliness, described many challenges and changes to their personal and volunteer lives, and explained why they continued to volunteer during the pandemic. We discuss implications for organizations that draw on older adult volunteers or provide social and supportive services to enhance older adults’ quality of life.