{"id":68386,"date":"2015-10-21T15:22:54","date_gmt":"2015-10-21T15:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comfortkeepers.ca\/toronto\/toronto-seniors-reap-the-benefits-of-volunteering\/"},"modified":"2015-10-21T15:22:54","modified_gmt":"2015-10-21T15:22:54","slug":"toronto-seniors-reap-the-benefits-of-volunteering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comfortkeepers.ca\/toronto\/toronto-seniors-reap-the-benefits-of-volunteering\/","title":{"rendered":"Toronto Seniors Reap the Benefits of Volunteering"},"content":{"rendered":"

The holiday season is just around the corner. With Christmas and Hanukah coming up along with the cold winter season, there will be many opportunities to volunteer in communities. Present wrapping, soup kitchens, and coat drives all need volunteers. These are all perfect opportunities for seniors and the elderly to get out and help others. It is not uncommon for seniors and the elderly to suffer from depression and loneliness, and volunteering provides the social interaction and companionship that many seniors crave. Volunteering also gives seniors the peace of mind that they helping others and contributing to a greater cause.<\/p>\n

Senior Volunteers: The Many Benefits Of Volunteering<\/h2>\n

According to a study presented May 2, 2009, at the American Geriatrics Society annual meeting in Chicago, retirees over 65 who volunteer are living to an older age compared to their peers who do not volunteer. The study, conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, included 6,360 retirees who were enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study in 2002. The average age of the study subjects was 78.<\/p>\n

Although that study did not examine the reasons for the health benefits of volunteering, other studies have. The Corporation for National and Community Service compiled findings of 30 such studies in a report, The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research. Among the findings:<\/p>\n