Community Treasures

As America grows older and more diverse, people age 50+ from all cultural backgrounds represent a vast resource for communities. Many are seeking opportunities to contribute to their families and neighborhoods, remain connected to others, and leave a legacy for future generations. Though human service practitioners and researchers are beginning to recognize the benefits of connection and contribution, both for individuals 50+ and for the larger community, scant attention has been paid to the characteristics of civic engagement among foreign-born elders. In fact, it has been suggested that immigrant elders are minimally engaged in their communities. Research that has been conducted on immigrant civic participation has focused primarily on citizenship efforts, not the critical roles that older adults play or could play in their communities. The purpose of this report is to gain a better understanding of why and how older immigrants contribute to their families and communities and to identify promising practices that support the engagement of immigrant elders in meaningful roles. The study documents the motivations and activities of 99 elders from diverse ethnic communities in Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Orange County, California. Data from focus groups, interviews with “engaged” elders, and discussions with organizations that have successfully supported older immigrants in civic roles allow the reader to hear the voices of immigrant elders and community leaders representing six ethnolinguistic groups: Latino, Chinese, Liberian, Vietnamese, Somali, and Ethiopian. In many cultures, the U.S. concept of “volunteering” is an unfamiliar one.

Therefore, in this report, “civic engagement” is broadly defined to include informal and formal helping, giving, leading, influencing, and participating, which more closely reflect the variety of ways in which elders assist one another, their families, and younger generations. When considering the civic engagement of foreign-born elders, words such as “volunteering” and “community service” may need to be replaced with more culturally appropriate language.