Community volunteering: the figures

Advance figures
from the Home Office Citizenship Survey, show that all sorts of community
activities peak by age 49.

– 44 per cent
of people aged 40-49 have some kind of civic involvement such as signing
petitions, contacting the council and attending public meetings.

– This declines
to 43 per cent of 50-64 year olds and 34 per cent of those aged 65 plus.

– 73 per cent
of people 49 and under are involved in informal volunteering – giving unpaid
help to a non relative. This declines to 65 per cent for the 50-64 year olds
and 55 per cent of those 65 plus.

–  44 per cent of people 40-49 and under are
involved in formal volunteering – giving unpaid help to a group or
organisation. This declines to 40 per cent for the 50-64 year olds and 32 per
cent of those 65 plus.

– Although
fewer older people are involved, if they do volunteer, they do it more
regularly.

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– The oldest
group, 65 +,  volunteers the most
regularly (at least once a month) of the age groups  – 75 per cent compared to 68 per cent overall.

– Those aged 50
plus involved in formal volunteering are more likely than any other age group
to get involved in visiting and befriending people and  volunteering through local community or
neighbourhood groups or citizens’ groups, or areas concerning the elderly or
religious groups.