Alice Chaffin had received hundreds of thank-you notes for her work as a volunteer. But when the 87-year-old brought a hand-knitted shawl to a disabled woman, she was overwhelmed by the woman's joyous response. "She didn't know there were individuals who did things for people they didn't even know, and it made me feel that what I was doing was truly worthwhile," Chaffin says.

As head of Helpmates, a 200-member volunteer group based in Sandusky, Ohio, Chaffin helps seniors share their skills and talents with their community. She is one of more than 24 million seniors who collectively volunteer 6 billion hours each year in the United States. And with more seniors maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle well into their golden years, the numbers of volunteers older than age 65 is rising. According to the Administration on Aging, Americans—nearly all of them seniors—are volunteering 20 percent more than they did 20 years ago.

Researchers at the University of Michigan recently discovered that the survival rate of seniors who volunteered 40 or more hours a year for a single cause was 40 percent greater than that of non-volunteers.

"Seniors who volunteer say it improves their health, life satisfaction, and social well-being," says Donna Thurmond, director of Senior Services for Volunteers of America.