Types of capital in the field of “silver volunteering”

Abstract

The article examines the features of the social capital of elderly volunteers through the prism of the Bourdieusian approach: the inequality of resources is shown and ways of converting various types of capital into the field of volunteering are presented. The temporal aspects of the formation of a volunteer’s habitus are revealed. The research makes it possible to see the problem of capital formation by the senior age volunteers through their dynamic interactions, painstaking and difficult work to create solidarity and redefine themselves. Being at the forefront of the policy of active longevity and in the field of view of the third sector, the movement of ‘silver’ volunteers contributes to the implementation of the neoliberal project of a healthy lifestyle of the elderly. An idea of silver volunteering is inclusive because people in the senior age as a socially vulnerable group get an opportunity to participate in public life, develop, and feel their need. The real practices of implementing this idea are rich in examples of human potential disclosure, the creation of cohesive communities, the embodiment of bright and important ideas not only of direct social assistance, but also of social change. At the same time, the experience of volunteering becomes a tool for distinguishing and increasing competitiveness in a field with an unequal distribution of resources.