Older adult service includes programs that seek older volunteers for their talents and experience, and that engage older adults in tasks aimed at improving social conditions. Engagement in service benefits older volunteers and service recipients, and it is probable that benefits are accrued by the larger community as well.
There has been increased development of service programs for older adults in recent years. This was spurred in part by the 1995 White House Conference on Aging, where there was a call for the engagement of older adults to meet human, educational, social, environmental, health, and cultural needs of children and adolescents.
Closely related to its work on productive aging, CSD's research on older adult service in the United States and abroad investigates the impact of older adult service on older adults and the populations they serve. In addition, research investigates how the engagement of older adults could be maximized through expanded access to service roles, enhancements to existing service positions, and creation of new opportunities for service.