National Seniors Day: Recognizing Pillars… and Building Bridges
On the occasion of National Seniors Day, the Volunteer Bureau of Montreal (VBM) joins the voices that celebrate the invaluable contributions of older adults to the life of our neighbourhoods. This year’s theme, Older Adults, Pillars of Our Communities, resonates with our mission: to promote and support volunteering that strengthens solidarity, inclusion, and collective well being.

A post by our Executive Director, Geneviève Fecteau

Growing together, at every age

Older adults share knowledge, support loved ones, energize civic life, contribute to the economy, and volunteer. Their contribution runs through our histories, cultures, and organizations. Yet ageism, often invisible, reduces people to a number and undermines dignity. Fully recognizing older adults means seeing them as whole persons with agency, aspirations, and a voice that matters. Whenever an older adult participates, learns, contributes, receives help or offers their own, the social fabric becomes stronger.
Our approach: dignity, access, intergenerational ties, shared leadership
 

• Dignity and agency. Dignity is not a luxury; it is the foundation. We offer simple, respectful pathways to engage, as a volunteer or as an organization, with the freedom to say yes, no, or differently at each step.

• Access and inclusion. Access to volunteering must be real, not theoretical. We remove language and digital barriers, simplify sign up, guide people, and support organizations that welcome older adult volunteers. Accessibility is designed with the people concerned.
  Intergenerational ties. Bridges between generations enrich everyone: mentorship, neighbour to neighbour support, cultural and civic activities, homework help, and neighbourhood projects. In practice, this looks like tech buddy pairs for digital skills, school tutoring, book clubs and oral history circles, community gardens, cooking or repair workshops such as repair cafes, pen pal programs and friendly visiting, and shared arts or music projects. Roles are designed with those who hold them.

• Shared leadership. Advisory committees of older adults, peer led evaluations, and feedback loops ensure their insights meaningfully shape our services and quality standards.

What we do in practice

At the VBM, we recognize all forms of contribution, including informal mutual aid such as caregiving and neighbour to neighbour support. More specifically, we support the following: 

• Matching and orientation. Our platform and team accompany people who want to get involved, including those who prefer a human, not 100% online, approach. When helpful, older adult peer advisors take part in welcoming newcomers.

• Support for organizations. We equip teams to create clear, meaningful roles: co written role descriptions, flexible schedules, tailored training, and authentic recognition.

• Food security and mutual aid. By supporting community food initiatives such as Meals on Wheels, we help sustain networks where many older adults both receive and give, a reminder that dignity includes access to quality food and relationships of proximity.

• Training and awareness. We offer content for volunteer managers grounded in inclusion, caring governance, and cross sector partnerships. Testimony and analysis by older adults are integral to our trainings.

What needs to change and how you can help

• Bring ageism out of the shadows. Name biases in our language, postings, forms, and meetings. Replace labels with open questions: What skills would you like to share? At what pace? What do you need to contribute well? Avoid speaking for others and create spaces where those most concerned speak for themselves.

• Offer value add roles. Go beyond routine tasks: mentorship, advising, knowledge transfer, coordination, representation.

• Create welcoming environments. Physical and digital accessibility, flexible schedules, time for orientation and training, and regular recognition are the baseline for a dignified, sustainable volunteer experience.

• Connect generations and sectors. Schools, businesses, culture, health and social services, and neighbourhood associations can build cross sector partnerships that open new pathways where everyone finds a place.

Three simple actions you can take now

• Become a volunteer or come back to it: explore opportunities aligned with your interests and reality. One hour a week can change a life, sometimes yours first.

• Invite an older adult to take part: join a committee, project, or activity, including in decision making spaces. A clear, concrete invitation is still the best antidote to ageism.

• If you are an organization, revisit a volunteer role to add a mentoring or knowledge transfer dimension, and review your welcoming conditions through the lens of dignity and accessibility.

Our commitment 

Recognizing older adults as pillars must be more than a formula. At the VBM, we will continue to make volunteering accessible, support the environments that welcome volunteers, and build meaningful intergenerational bridges.

Above all, we reaffirm this: we will not speak about older adults, we will act with them, guided by their voices.

To all the older adults who keep Montreal’s heart beating, with a gesture, a smile, an hour given, a story shared, thank you. Your place, your dignity, and your voice are essential.

Happy National Seniors Day !