Past attention has focused on the role of the elderly as recipients rather than receivers of help. To examine the proportion and characteristics of older community residents involved in care-giving, data used were from the 1979 "Statewide Survey of Older Virginians," aged 60 and older (N=2,146). Of the 10 types of helping activities studied, 5 were viewed as social or interpersonal support activities, and 5 were more directly related to recipients' health or physical well-being. The results revealed that nearly half of the respondents provided one of the 10 types of assistance, and the most frequent types of help were in the social/interpersonal category, e.g., checking in, transportation, personal advice. More young-old (ages 60-74) than old-old adults reported helping others, and there was an association between fair to poor life satisfaction and the provision of physical health-related services. The findings suggest that the elderly are an important resource for many in-home services, with women, younger elderly, and those with good to excellent daily living skills being the major contributors of assistance. (WAS)