A UNIVERSITY of Ulster study has emphasised the positive mental and physical impacts of volunteering.
The results of the three year research study into the activities of older people who volunteer for charity work, found participants displayed modest improvements in physical health and stability in their mental health scores.
Conducted by the University of Ulster, commissioned by Volunteer Now and funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies, the large scale study was conducted by Dr John Mallett and Professor Maurice Stringer, academics in Ulster’s Psychology Research Institute.
The study followed 344 volunteers, aged 50+, located within 109 organisations across Northern Ireland and looked at recruitment, motivations for volunteering, satisfaction with volunteering and how this related to their health and quality of life.
The results of the study suggest that for older people the maintenance of health and the prevention of decline associated with retirement and ageing is highly valued. Volunteers were involved in a wide variety of activities, including; organising or running events, giving advice, befriending or mentoring and raising or handling money.
The reasons given for volunteering suggest that older volunteers have time to devote to volunteering. Participants reported a sense of satisfaction at helping others.
Prof Stringer, Director of the Psychology Research Institute, said: “The partnership approach with the Volun-teer Now team contributed strongly to the success of this large scale study.
“The findings suggest that older volunteers contribute substantially to community life throughout Northern Ireland using their skills and expertise to benefit others. The study found there were clear benefits for older volunteers in terms of maintaining physical and mental health.”
Meanwhile, the 1,000th person has been awarded a fully funded place on the Department for Employment and Learning’s management and leadership training programmes. The programme, established in April, offers 100% funded management and leadership packages for local businesses and social economy enterprises.
Megan Hamill from JHF Enterprises, an ice-cream and coffee shop based in Holywood, attended the New2 Accelerate course in September and in doing so, became the 1,000th person to receive a fully funded place on the department’s suite of management and leadership training programmes since the start of April 2013.
Minster Stephen Farry said: “I am pleased that in just six months 1,000 people have benefited from a fully funded place on my department’s management and leadership training programmes.
“Improved management and leadership skills are proven worldwide to be a highly effective way for companies to gain a competitive edge, it is vital that Northern Ireland SME’s and Social Economy Enterprises continue to take advantage of this training in order to unlock the potential of their workforce and grow our economy.”