The Silver Volunteers initiative

Summary

According to the statistical data, more than 1.4 million older people live in St. Petersburg. Many of them are healthy and physically active for their age but lack sufficient opportunities to lead an active lifestyle and participate fully in society.
The Silver Volunteer initiative started in St.Petersburg in 2010 as a community movement of older citizens who perform work or provide services for the common good without receiving payment, helping others. The project aims to change perceptions of ageing and attitudes towards older people, both among themselves and in society as a whole, by involving older people in volunteer activities to unlock their personal and professional potential, and improving their quality of life. Participation in volunteering prolongs active live of the most experienced part of society and preserves their physical and mental health well-being as long as possible.
Today, the Silver Volunteers initiative in St-Petersburg includes over 3,000 participants, operates across more than nine thematic areas of work, and implements eight socially significant projects for the city. It also collaborates with more than 100 partner organizations in Russia to address a wide range of volunteer assistance needs.
All new Silver Volunteers complete a mandatory Five Steps to Volunteering training course. The training covers volunteers’ rights and responsibilities, areas of activity, use of the добро.рф platform. It also includes team-building exercises and case studies. New participants receive support from area mentors and experienced volunteers to help them adapt smoothly and integrate quickly.
After completing the training, volunteers gain access to communication channels where information on upcoming activities is published. They can then choose an area of activity independently.

Website: https://vk.com/silvervolunteer, https://dobro.ru/organizations/620039/feed

Key facts

Main target group: Older people in general

Sector(s): Education, Other, Social protection

Other sector(s): volunteering and activism

Desired outcome for older people:
Learn, grow and make decisions

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Ageism
Elder abuse
Healthy behaviours (e.g. physical activity)
Intergenerational activities
Inequities
Inclusion
Participation

Contact details

Name: Yulia Provornaya

Email address: prus@kzdrav.gov.spb.ru

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Older People’s Association
Volunteers
Private sector

How collaboration worked: The initiative is financially supported by the City government and at the national level: non-governmental organizations which are running the initiative systematically receive state grants. They also get non-governmental grants.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: The project has spread so widely mostly because of a high level of engagement and activism among older people. They join the Silver Volunteer movement and encourage their friends to join.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
Silver Volunteers participate in various activities having place in St-Petersburg. For example, in May-June 2025 they participated in following big sport events: 3 games of FC Zenith St-Petersburg, Governor`s Triathlon cup, Stars relay race, ZSD Fontanka Fest, ZaBeg RF, Peter`s Assembly, Ladoga Gold Bicycle Race, Governor`s Bicycle race cup, Fight&Win Run (related to the SPIEF), Triathlon Sprint Championship, basketball games (men`s championship), volleyball games (women`s championship). In the same period, Silver volunteers provided technical support at the Ecologist Day and other events related to environment protection, such as swap-events aimed at exchange of clothes and personal belongings or lections on conscious consumption.

Feedback:
Volunteers actively provide their feedback. For this purpose, several convenient mechanisms have been created, including: periodic group meetings, individual detailed consultations, direct communication with heads of the volunteer centers and coordinators, and common online chat for feedback. Volunteers also provide more feedback on group page in VK social network (https://vk.com/silvervolunteer), where many activities and events are reflected.

Expansion plans:
The practice is now ongoing and, started in St-Petersburg, continues to expand, being implemented in most regions of the Russian Federation.

Looking back

Challenges:
On the first steps, it was challenging to spread information about the project among older people. Now it`s easier thanks to the development of social media and because of many Silver Volunteers who share information with their friends and relatives. However, assistance was needed at the beginning, and the St. Petersburg Social Care Committee helped to raise awareness among older people, for example during the annual International Older Generation Forum.