ABOUT LIFELONG LEARNING THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE
The Baby Boomers have been called the "rebels with a cause" because they brought enormous change to society in the 1960s and 1970s. Many of them, it is expected, will look to continue their pioneering social efforts into their later years.
Along with that, the current population of older adults, most from the "Greatest Generation," are already demonstrating their strong commitment to society by engaging in a wide range of civic endeavors. It's quite obvious that older adults, no matter what the generation, can be and are an incredible asset to society. In fact...
Mature volunteers are making more contributions in terms of dollar value to our society than what older Americans are getting back in support.
So, with that being said, let's examine the connection between lifelong learning and meaningful community service - how lifelong learners get involved and help society better serve us all.
Lifelong learning, as we know, can lead to many things. Meaningful community service is one of those "many things." Lifelong learning, combined with meaningful community service, so engages all your senses that it produces a natural "high," a feeling so unique and exquisite that you will find yourself looking for ways to keep that exuberance a permanent fixture in your "After 50" years.
Meaningful community service is different for each person. It's all about engaging in whatever endeavor makes you feel complete and useful. It's all about whatever activity enriches and stimulates your life. For some, meaningful community service might mean getting involved with volunteer organizations. For others, something entirely different.
Whatever it means to you, however, you can be sure that by using your wisdom and experience, you can soar to greater heights and deliver even greater impact in whatever project you undertake. In fact, those involved in their communities routinely encounter new perspectives and ideas that challenge as much as they enlighten. Your involvement in meaningful community service will help add yet another facet to your lifelong learning quest.
Lifelong Learners Giving Back
Here are just a few examples of how lifelong learners at programs around the country give back to their communities:
Members of the Duke University Institute for Learning in Retirement in Durham, North Carolina are very active in several different volunteer projects. The program "adopted" a local elementary school in 1993 and since then interested members spend two hours per week working as tutors and classroom assistants. Other members support the Children's Hospital/Children's Miracle Network, which raises money for sick children in the area. Other members volunteer for studies at the Center for Aging, while more volunteers work with international students and faculty at Duke.
Members of the Senior College at Lewiston-Auburn College in Maine are involved in a unique service program entitled Franco-American Architecture in Lewiston. They do cultural fieldwork and developed an exhibit around this theme. Course activity includes oral history, geography, genealogy, archaeology and archival research.
The Academy for Learning in Retirement at Saratoga Springs, New York has members who sit on boards of local organizations, work in soup kitchens and food pantries, volunteer at hospices and work in museums and churches.
The Academy for Senior Professionals at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida says its membership volunteers their time at 110 non-profit agencies in the area. A few of the wide-ranging activities include fundraising for the local orchestra, docent activities at museums, working at a spouse abuse center, sitting on boards, teaching courses at local schools, providing low income tax assistance and working in churches.
This list could go on and on. What is clear, however, is that these activities clearly demonstrate the link between lifelong learning and community service. The two just naturally go together!
Facts About Community Service
You've probably been a volunteer at some point in your life, whether you realized it or not. The time youÍve spent at your childÍs school or in your place of worship - just lending a hand for special events - was volunteer work.
Here are some interesting facts about community service in the United States.
- President Jimmy Carter's mother was 83 when she joined the Peace Corps.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, a growing number of mature volunteers are seeking positions that offer something more - more influence, more authority, more power. They are taking leadership positions in volunteer organizations ensuring that their skills, wisdom and knowledge are being utilized to the fullest.
- Mature Americans are the most active and well-informed when it comes to both politics and current affairs so they are the ones who are most often seen as the community leaders and activists.
- A recent study indicated that 40% of Americans between the ages of 50 and 75 said they were "very interested" or "fairly interested" in half-time volunteer roles after they no longer worked full-time.
- The experiential knowledge of mature adults is of tremendous value to our society.
- An estimated 24 million adults over the age of 55 are serving as volunteers in our society and more would, if asked.
- Despite the multitude of people who share their time and talents, the needs of our communities far outweigh the work that is already being done.
Examples of Community Service Activities
Following are just some of the many community service opportunities available, depending on your interests and expertise.
- Provide one-on-one tutoring to local school children, especially in Reading, English and Math.
- Sit on boards of local organizations.
- Work in churches or synagogues.
- Volunteer at hospices or hospitals.
- Be a docent at local museums.
- Work in soup kitchens or food pantries.
- Be a mentor/and or a mock job interviewer to graduating students.
- Serve as a subject control for different studies at local universities or colleges.
- Be a volunteer teacher at local schools.
- Be a fundraiser for local non-profits.
- Work at spouse abuse centers.
- Provide low income tax assistance.
- Volunteer to usher at local cultural events.
- Read for the blind and dyslexic.
- Construct housing for the homeless.
- Work at libraries.
- Teach reading to adults.
- Answer local "help" lines.
- Be a court volunteer.
- Work in police departments.
- Be a friend to international students.
- Serve as Red Cross bloodmobile workers.
- Be part of disaster recovery teams.
- Take part in city beautification projects.
- Volunteer in local environmental programs.
- Act as a judge at student Model UN programs.
- Counsel people wanting to start their own businesses.
- Participate in food drives.
- Take part in Drug Awareness programs.
- Answer phones during local PBS membership drives.
- Join a women's club to provide assistance to local communities.
- Serve lunch to shut-ins.
- Volunteer at local botanical gardens.
- Serve on local town/city councils.
- Sit on leadership committees.
- Get involved in local crime prevention programs.
- Work in Goodwill/Salvation Army Thrift Stores.
- Take part in health screening registration drives.
- Serve on educational advisory boards.
- Volunteer at children's centers and nursing homes.
- Serve on the boards of science and governmental institutions.
- Travel to remote countries to promote various types of education.
- Do cultural fieldwork.
- Work for a local Chamber of Commerce.
- Take part in rural outreach programs.
Finding the Right Opportunity
- Look for causes and groups that work with issues about which you feel strongly.
- Make a list of your skills. You can then go right to work with a minimum of training. The skills you've learned in your career or at work can be applied for the benefit of others.
- Or, take the opportunity to learn something new through community service.
- Look for opportunities that will help you combine your other goals in life.
- Review your schedule so you don't over-commit. No one wins if that happens. Take into account your other life commitments.
- Look at opportunities you can take on as a team with your spouse.
- Virtual volunteer if you love working on a computer. There are more than 100 organizations that use on-line volunteers.
- Think about new and different venues where volunteers might be useful.
- Find out how much time is required, how much, if any, of your own funds will be used and if expenses are reimbursed.
- Bring your heart, your sense of humor and your enthusiastic spirit to community service. What you get back is immeasurable.
Benefits of Community Service
- Volunteerism produces what is called the "halo effect." By volunteering you not only help make the world a better place, but you also enrich your own life too.
- Most people can physically, mentally and emotionally benefit from a moderate amount of community service work.
- Being a volunteer enhances the control you feel over your own life.
- A measure of status and identity is conferred by contributing and working in a volunteer capacity.
- You feel fulfilled with a new sense of purpose.
- Volunteerism boosts character, builds strong minds that can reason, think critically, negotiate, and solve problems.
- You will be intellectually challenged.
- Giving back promises greater meaning, stimulation and the chance to make a difference in others' lives.
- People who have found a valued role in life live longer.
- You develop a new perspective on life making material things less important.
- You will come away feeling valued and needed.
- You make new contacts, which might lead to a second career, full-time or part-time.
- Social interaction increases as you meet new people.
- A wise friend once said that a really meaningful life, after leaving full-time employment, should be comprised of 1/3rd learning, 1/3rd play and 1/3rd giving back to others. What a wonderful philosophy!
Community Service is...
- An opportunity to fill your After-50 years with joy and stimulation...
- An opportunity to help change the stereotypical views of older adults...
- An opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for the next generation...
