Retirees find purpose in volunteering
Transition from paid to unpaid work easy when helping others
You’ve been in the workforce for decades. You’ve always wanted to volunteer, but never found the time.
Or perhaps you’ve volunteered in small ways, such as a holiday contribution to the Salvation Army kettles or donating a turkey to the local food bank.
But now, you are officially retired and ready for a more significant commitment. Don’t think twice about volunteering — jump in with both feet. This is your moment.
Rod Olson, a Colorado author and life coach, says matching your career skills with a volunteer position is a win-win: “People with great skill sets and expertise can still use these skill sets in retirement. … Volunteering gives you a purpose, makes you part of the team.”
Today’s volunteers are an essential part of organizations that need their energy, expertise and time.
We checked in with five Dallas-Fort Worth residents, all of whom have found ways to enrich their own lives and the organizations and people they serve.
Sandra Malone, of Dallas, who is in her 80s, found the transition from paid to unpaid work easy.
“The work I did for both were in tandem with each other. Even after I left my paying job, I still worked in the same field, in education and mentoring.”
She initially worked as an educator and administrator in the Dallas Independent School District (DISD).
Today, she volunteers primarily with two national organizations, the Links Inc., a group of professional women of colour in volunteer work, and the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. Her jobs have included working at the national level, doing social justice work and registering voters. Since retiring, Malone has volunteered on executive boards of local organizations and advisory boards at DISD schools.
“Volunteering is important to me, because it helps me be involved and active in important community issues, while helping to make the quality of life better for others.”
Noel Campos, 78, retired in 2006 after a career that included 23 years in the U.S. air force and 10 years in the aerospace and defence industry. Upon retiring to Fort Worth, Campos began ushering at Bass Performance Hall. He also volunteers weekly in the surgical supply department at Texas Health Huguley Hospital in Burleson, as well as with the City of Burleson Senior Center, driving seniors to their medical appointments.
“I was ready to do something when I retired. And I’m glad I did. No way I want to work for money anymore — too many rules,” he says.
The volunteer gigs make him happy: “I enjoy giving back to the community.”
Tom and Rita Chasser, both 74, of Irving, volunteer together at the Irving Cares food pantry.
Early in their marriage in Scotland, Rita was a thoracic nurse and Tom worked with an energy company. His job then took them to Bermuda and later the United States, where they eventually landed in Texas. She left the workforce years ago to care for their growing family and because getting a work permit proved difficult. In 2004, Tom retired from his job as a risk and insurance manager with Exxon Mobil. The couple, married for 50 years, volunteered regularly before retirement. “When our church, Woodhaven Presbyterian, which has always supported Irving Cares, announced there was a need for more volunteers, Rita and I came forward,” Tom says.
Every Friday for 14 years, the couple has worked a four-hour shift at the food pantry, distributing groceries to clients and keeping the shelves stocked.
Tom and Rita also volunteer at the Texas Center for Proton Therapy, in Irving, on Monday mornings. Their three years of service is “part of giving back after Tom’s treatment there” for prostate cancer, Rita says.
“One of the benefits,” Tom says, “is meeting new people with whom we now socialize regularly.”
Rita adds, “It has given Tom and me separate interests to talk about at the end of the day and the satisfaction of helping others.”
Rod Franz, 69, was a management associate at J.C. Penney, where he worked for 37 years, relocating to the Dallas area when the corporate headquarters moved to Plano in 1986.
Following retirement in 2010, he initially volunteered at a homeless shelter, where he met a couple who shared his interest in gardening. They encouraged him to volunteer at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
“It was the beauty of the gardens that initially drew me to volunteer, but it’s the interaction with amazing fellow volunteers, staff and visitors that keeps drawing me back.”
Franz, who lives in Sachse, has volunteered at the Arboretum for eight years. He says among the greatest benefits of the Arboretum volunteer job is the opportunity to share life skills.
Rena Poletes, 77, of Bedford, used to work as a senior sales and service representative with American Airlines.
Poletes left the workforce in 2008 and, like Malone, chose a volunteer job related to her career. She now works a fourhour shift every Tuesday at the C.R. Smith Museum in Fort Worth.
A lifelong lover of museums, Poletes says she knew even as the museum was being built that she wanted to volunteer there. She has been with the museum for 10 years.
“Volunteering there allows the airline atmosphere to stay alive for me,” Poletes says.
In addition to her work with the museum, Poletes has been a volunteer in church choirs over the past 65 years. Her current church home is St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Euless, where her late husband, Bill, was director.
Volunteering, she says, blends well with retirement. She says she adjusted quickly to a more leisurely lifestyle and enjoys not facing the pressures of a regular job.
“One of the benefits is meeting new people with whom we now socialize regularly.”
TOM CHASSER FOOD PANTRY VOLUNTEER