Elder volunteers and cyber world – An experiment

The population of elderly citizens is increasing at a tremendous rate in developing and developed countries. Retirees also form an important group of the elderly citizens. Remaining active during retirement age is the key to happy later life. Elderly citizens still have the capacity to work and so it is the responsibility of the society to encourage them to involve themselves in some form of work and help them live their lives with dignity and respect. Volunteering offers a way to learn or develop new skills, be part of community, gain new experiences, increase self-confidence, and be physically healthy. To help elderly citizens to extend their voluntary services, it was decided to launch a web portal for them. Hence, the web portal exclusively for elderly was designed and launched in DEC2011. The web portal webcasts the elderly citizens’ personal details and their preferred area of landing voluntary services. The NGOs can also register themselves for seeking voluntary services from elderly citizens. They can post their requirements for voluntary work on the web portal and can approach elderly members registered on the website. This venture is highly appreciated by seniors since it helps them to remain active constructively.