Let’s spend some time looking at what available in the way of community service opportunities.

The first thing you need to do is define your parameters. A wealth of community service opportunities await you. In fact, narrowing down your selection may be the most difficult part; there is so much to choose from.

A recent search on Google for “volunteer organizations” netted 28,800,000 results. Far too much to simply sift through, you’d be straining your eyes for days poring over the results. Obviously, when you do decide to begin your search you will need to be rather specific. Define your interests, skills and abilities first. Then decide if you want to volunteer locally in your community or state, nationally or even internationally. This bit of “homework” will also help when you finally contact an organization. You will be able to provide them with a good overview of what you are looking for and what you can provide for them.
 
We suggest that you begin by reviewing what your own state has to offer. From there you can narrow it down to your city or town. The Internet and/or the phone book are the most useful tools. Try looking under Volunteer Organizations in the phone book or search by “(your state) volunteer organizations” on the Internet. This way you can acquaint yourself with the options that are available to you. The Resources section of this book has some good places to help you get started. 

If during your working career you belonged, and perhaps still do, to a national trade or professional organization, that’s a great place to start your search. Check out their web sites. Most will have ways for you to volunteer your time and expertise. For instance, all of the building and home maintenance trades are needed in such organizations as Habitat for Humanity.  Doctors and nurses are needed both in this country and abroad. Whatever you did in your working life can be translated into meaningful community service in your later years.

Another way to begin your search is by a specific interest. Is that interest terminology or education? If so, Net Day Compass at www.netdaycompas.org is the place to start. If literacy is your passion try “literacy volunteer opportunities (your state)”

Don’t forget the library. Tell your local librarian what you want to do. He or she should be able to provide you with plenty of information.

Other sources include your local church or temple, the local Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis and Optimists clubs. They do a lot of international work and have connections

Civic Ventures ®
Before we get into the specifics of actual volunteer organizations, let’s talk about Civic Ventures, a San Francisco-based, national, non-profit organization that is at the forefront of redefining our later years as they relate to community service. If you expect to leave work over the next 20-30 years, and plan to make those years the best years of your life, then you should know about Civic Ventures. 

Civic Ventures, according to their web site (www.civicventures.org) creates ideas and invents programs to help society achieve the greatest return on experience.   With the first of 76 million baby boomers turning 60 in 2006 this coming wave of older adults, Civic Ventures goes on to say, “are on the front edge of the largest, healthiest, best educated population of Americans ever to move through and beyond their 50s. They are pioneers in a new stage spanning the decades between middle and late life. Neither young nor old, they represent an extraordinary pool of social and human capital.”

Civic Ventures focuses on the “vanguard of a new movement made up of a growing number of Americans who are redefining the second half of life. These people are not just extending their years on the job; they are doing work that adds meaning to these years. They want to share their experience while acquiring new experiences. They are inventors, organizers, leaders, activists, teachers, and entrepreneurs who attach deep meaning to the notion of giving back.” They create better opportunities for aging Americans to use their time, talent, and experience in areas that need these assets–areas such as education, health care, and the non-profit sector.

Civic Ventures also played a key role in creating The Experience Corps,® a national service program that mobilizes Americans 55 and up to help improve urban elementary schools. Experience Corps is the largest AmeriCorps program engaging older Americans. It is a wonderful example of how the generations can be brought together for mutual benefit. See www.experiencecorps.org.

Now Civic Ventures is creating The Next Chapter ™ programs to help individuals nearing retirement answer the question, "what's next?" They will provide "directions and connections" that enable people to clarify their vision, then develop a practical plan for realizing that vision.  Encouraging continued contributions to one's community is a vital element of the Next Chapter initiative. We will talk much more about The Next Chapter program in the next chapter. 

Spending some time on the Civic Ventures web site – www.civicventures.org -will help clarify your thinking about community service and give you helpful direction as you take this next step in your life.

Till Next Time…

Nancy Merz Nordstrom. M.Ed., is the author of "Learning Later, Living Greater: The Secret for Making the Most of Your After-50 Years". Her book, according to Ken Dychtwald, is a “compelling and user-friendly guide to lifelong learning and, in many ways, a complete redefinition of the after-50 years.” Nancy also directs the Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN), North America's largest and most respected educational network for older adults. More than 360 lifelong learning institutes with over 150,000 members are affiliated with the Network. For more information – Elderhostel Institute Network Read Nancy’s story on her Journal Visit her Forum Group LearnTalk Nancy maintains a web site at LearningLater.com