The aim of the study was to determine the effects of volunteering on the physical and mental health of older adults, including the effect of type of volunteer work.

Data were collected from 120 subjects above the age of 60, of whom half were volunteers: 30 subjects provided care to terminally ill in hospices and 30 subjects collected funds in a single charity event during the 14th Finale of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity. The control group comprised 60 subjects not engaged in any kind of social activity. The following questionnaire methods were used: The Geriatric Depression Scale, Instrumental Activities of Daily Living, Norbeck Social Support Questionnaire and the originally developed inventory of health behaviors as recommended for this group of age.

The analysis of variance revealed that volunteering had protective effect on functional dependency, depression and level of health behaviors. The type of volunteer work was found as a moderator of the level of depression, subjective health status over last year and physical activity. The multiple regression analysis revealed the importance of social support variable for daily activities, albeit only in the control group. Curiously, the obtain results indicated that the stronger the support network perceived by these subjects, the lowest the ability to functional independence.

The findings suggest that a need exists for the development of social programs and policies aimed at maximizing the engagement of older adults in volunteer roles, independently of the type of volunteer work.