Executive Summary

Numerous programs exist across the country – in schools, community organizations, recreation centers, churches, libraries, and other neighborhood sites – that provide a safe place for children to learn and play during after-school hours. Likewise, many national, state, and local programs exist to engage older and/or retired individuals in service to their communities – Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), Foster Grandparents, Senior Companions, or Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE ) just to name a few. To date, however, few resources have explored how these two types of programs might join forces or examined how to tap older adults as a resource to meet the enormous need for more capacity in after-school programs.

It’s a perfect time to begin thinking about how to bring older adults and after-school programs together.

• America’s older population is about to expand dramatically as a result of the aging of the Baby Boomers. The 55+ population will almost double between now and 2030, while the number of Americans 65 and older will more than double.
  
• This rapidly growing older population represents an untapped social asset that, if properly directed, has the potential to alleviate some of society’s most significant problems. Currently, nearly half of all Americans age 55 and over volunteer at some point during each year. As a whole, 27.5 million Americans over the age of 55 are providing a total of 7.5 billion hours in volunteer time annually.
  
• Participating in after-school programs is an appealing option for older adults. “Working with children and youth” was the top choice of volunteer options in a national survey of older adults. “Education/tutoring” was the most popular volunteering option in a survey of AARP members in New York. After-school settings give older adults a unique window into community needs and offer them flexible opportunities for intergenerational interaction.
  
• Experience Corps illustrates a variety of roles in which older adults can work successfully with youth after school. Since 1995, Experience Corps has been recruiting older adults to work with young students. Four of the 13 cities in which Experience Corps operates involve older volunteers in after-school programs (Boston, Washington, DC, Kansas City, and San Francisco). The older volunteers serve as reading coaches, literacy tutors, mentors, homework helpers, and leaders of enrichment activities. Some older volunteers take on part-time staff positions or assume other leadership roles.
  
• An Experience Corps after-school program conforms to a research-based model and distinct approach that engages older adults in teams of their peers to provide intensive, purposeful service to young people. The program design is based on research and best practice drawn from the fields of national service, effective tutoring, adult learning and healthy aging. At various stages in its development, the program model has been studied and commended by researchers from Public/Private Ventures, American Institutes for Research, Temple University’s Center for Intergenerational Learning, Johns Hopkins University’s Center on Aging, and the University of Virginia’s Reading Center. (See recent research by Dr. Linda Fried of Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, published in the Journal of Urban Health)
  
• Peer-to-peer contacts and word-of-mouth are valuable recruiting strategies. Established after-school programs report the best way to find older volunteers is through word of mouth, using current volunteers as spokespeople. Other important channels for reaching older adults include community newspapers, local fairs and festivals, and meetings of local civic organizations. Anywhere that older adults gather or visit—public libraries, neighborhood association meetings, senior centers, active retirement communities, religious organizations, even the bulletin board at a local coffee shop or pharmacy —can be excellent sources for older volunteers.
  
• A good volunteer recruitment strategy must be matched with a good volunteer retention strategy. First and foremost, this means providing effective training both before and during service. Program leaders recommend designing training modules that use role-playing, draw on older adults’ accumulated knowledge and experience, set realistic expectations about impact on children, and reassure older adults they can cope with the concerns and behavior of today’s youth. Other important ways to support older volunteers? Provide them with opportunities for personal growth and social connection, schedule periodic “job reviews,” and devise a variety of methods for letting them know they’re valued and appreciated.
  
• After-school programs based on the Experience Corps model range in cost depending on the number of volunteers, service sites, children, and local activities. A new program with 30-50 volunteers could be established within an existing organization for about $125,000 per year, with the biggest budget items being personnel and volunteer costs in the form of stipends and out-of-pocket costs for transportation. (To put this number in perspective, 30 volunteers serving 150 children per week for 40 weeks each year works out to a per child cost of about $20 per week.) Program managers should be sure to allocate adequate resources for recruiting, training and recognizing volunteers as well as for program evaluation.
  
• Funding for after-school programs engaging older adults can come from a variety of public and private sources, including businesses, individuals, foundations, and federal/state/local government. Many of the current Experience Corps projects participate in AmeriCorps, or utilize VISTAs for a portion of their staffing. Several also receive small grants from city or state government. Annual fees from participating schools provide another source of funding. Local businesses provide both cash and in-kind support. Older adults are a valuable, cost-effective resource for after-school programs; those who volunteer are also engaged citizens and aware consumers. Effectively recruiting and retaining older adults in after-school roles, therefore, can help you connect with a variety of local funding sources.

This tool kit is designed to help existing after-school programs and senior service programs learn more about how older adults can be a valuable resource for after-school programs; what program features, messages, and recruitment strategies are attractive to and effective with older adult volunteers; and what keeps older adults engaged and interested in after-school service opportunities.

The kit includes actual sample materials from four Experience Corps after-school projects located in Boston, Washington DC, Kansas City, and San Francisco. Read the executive summary and table of contents, or download the tool kit.

For more information about Experience Corps, please visit more of our web site. If you have questions or comments, please contact us.