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Press Coverage
Boomers Giving Back
July 13, 2004, Kansas City Star
Ask
not what you can do for the boomers; ask what they can do for the
country.
Harvard
School of Public Health did that recently, when it joined with MetLife
Foundation for a study called Reinventing Aging: Baby Boomers and
Civic Engagement. Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) are
poised to become the wealthiest, best educated and healthiest generation
to ever hit the Golden Years.
“Baby
boomers have an important opportunity to redefine aging and the
productive role that people can play in later life by becoming involved
in our communities,” says Sibyl Jacobson, MetLife Foundation
president and CEO.
The
study concludes that the same group that birthed the “Me Generation”
also features Kennedy-esque boomers who, if approached correctly,
will respond positively to a new call to service. The Harvard report
encourages charitable organizations to “develop plans for tapping
the time, energy and talents” of this vibrant pool of potential
volunteers.
In
other words, give them something more interesting to do than stuffing
envelopes.
“I
was brought up that you give back to the community, because of what
it has given to us and our children,” says Susan Williamson,
55. “You have to keep that going; it's a cycle.” Williamson
volunteers at Heartland Therapeutic Riding in Stilwell in Johnson
County, assisting severely handicapped children as they ride horses.
“You would think that it would be very sad, but you leave happy
every day,” she says.
“After
being in the corporate world for more than 20 years, I found myself
at a transitional time in my life,” says Susanne Root, 52.
She began assessing her priorities, then started looking at nonprofit
organizations. Soon she was fixing up homes as part of the Christmas
in October program, and volunteering with Dog and Jog (benefiting
the Humane Society of Greater Kansas City).
“It
was time to start helping people who have different challenges in
their lives,” Root says. Focusing on others helped her, too.
“It has definitely added value to my life.”
At
42, Wendy McGraw hails from the younger end of the boomer scale.
She worked in the investment industry for 15 years; then came 9/11.
“Life started looking different,” McGraw says. “I
decided it was time to do some things I normally didn't have time
for, things I really wanted to do.”
One
of those things was joining her husband, Jon, in volunteering with
the Sister Cities Association and serving on the board of the Town
Art Show, an annual benefit for Parkinson's disease sufferers.
“We
do promotional stuff, like organizing advertising, working with
the media, and handling applications for artists all over the country,”
she says. “Then we usually spend a day or two at the show,
helping artists or baby-sitting their booths while they take a break.”
Echoing
a familiar theme, Jon calls his involvement “a way for me to
give back to the community.”
“Volunteering
is my chance to get outside myself,” McGraw says, “doing
something in the world where I receive no materialistic return,
but it's very rewarding.”
“I
don't care what part of life you're in,” Williamson says, “you
should give back because, my goodness, we're so blessed.”
Read
the entire text of Reinventing Aging: Baby Boomers and Civic Engagement
at .edu/chc/reinventingaging/Report.pdf.
Where
to volunteer
A
sampling of local possibilities:
•
Catholic Charities, (816) 221-4377, www.catholiccharities-kcsj.org
•
Habitat for Humanity, (816) 924-1096, www.habitatkc.org
•
Heart of America United Way, (816) 472-4289, www.hauw.org
•
Salvation Army, (816) 968-0374, www.salarmy-mokan.org
•
Youth Friends, (816) 842-7082, www.youthfriends.org/KC
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