Charities & VolunteeringCharities & OrganisationsRetired civil servants put the fun back into volunteering Retired civil servants put the fun back into volunteering
By Tony Watts - Editor - 08/03/2007
Just what do retired civil servants get up to in their spare time? A new series of website video clips has all the answers.
The Civil Service Retirement Fellowship (CSRF) has launched a new web-based campaign to recruit more volunteers to help them carry out the huge amount of voluntary work that the charity undertakes every year.
Entitled “Boredom Breeds Mischief”, the campaign takes a tongue-in-cheek look at what retired civil servants might get up to if there were no local CSRF activities to keep them amused – and shows the distinctly feistier side of getting older.
There are four film clips to view on the site (click on the link below) and they show retired people playing pranks – variously on policemen, pedestrians, young lovers and customers in a pub.
“We’ve got 68,000 members,” says Lizzie Wrobel, Head of Communications at the CSRF, “but we know there are half a million retired civil servants out there who could benefit by joining the Fellowship. This campaign is aimed at showing them that we do have a fun, lighter side. There’s a tendency to portray older people as vulnerable and frail – and yes, some are and the CSRF looks after a great many of those. But equally, there are many retired people who are looking to make a positive contribution to society. And again we can harness this enthusiasm and energy.”
The CSRF is based on the work of its thousands of volunteers around the UK who run local groups. These groups organise social activities, meetings and a visiting service for housebound or ill beneficiaries and offer vital social contact for many. “Unfortunately,” says Lizzie, “we do not currently have enough volunteers to keep groups running in all areas and new volunteers with fresh ideas are vitally needed. Volunteering for the CSRF can take up as little or as much of your time as you want to put in.”
The CSRF is also breaking new ground by using the web as an important means of communication – taking advantage of the fast rising numbers of older people who now use the internet. The clips have more than an echo of the hugely successful “youtube” which attract millions of views every day.
And it is hoped that current volunteers and serving civil servants will view the clips and forward them on to friends and colleagues to look at – effectively that most modern of techniques, “viral marketing”.
Recruiting for older volunteers has certainly come of age!
To find out more about the CSRF – and how to join – just click here.