The impact of race on volunteer helping relationships among the elderly

As programs solicit their help in providing transportation, shopping assistance, telephone reassurance, counseling, and information and referral to needy elderly people, older adults are going to fill increasingly important roles as volunteers in the social service system for this aging society. Little empirical work has been done on effective volunteer behavior. This article aims to increase understanding of this topic by exploring how race influences relationships between volunteers and the people they serve. This analysis reveals that race by itself does not affect volunteer helping behavior; black and white older adults perform similarly in volunteer roles on measures of time committed to service and satisfaction levels of clients. However, the racial composition of the dyad does have significant effects on the helping relationship; higher levels of contact and client satisfaction are reported when the volunteer and the client are of the same race. Professional training and support are necessary to overcome problems associated with racial differences between volunteers and their clients.