The Voice of Experience
FEBRUARY 2006
in this issue
MEMBER PROFILE
still in the
thick of it

Maria Estrello, retired marriage counselor, Port Arthur

Why I joined Experience Corps : I was the first Mexican girl to graduate from Franklin Elementary School, and to me it is a wonderful haven. At one of our Mexican Heritage Society meetings several years ago, a lady from Experience Corps spoke to us about the program. When I learned it was happening at Franklin, I decided to look into it.

I like working in the school because : I know it so well. It is my alma mater. Now I work with an older teacher who was also a student at Franklin and had the same principal as I did, the same education and experience. Together we help the children feel proud of themselves and their heritage.

I try to give the children : Inspiration to rise above. The children I see, they come from so many troubled households, you would never guess. But they're incredibly capable of learning so much. I don't like them to feel like they're lazy. I say, "It's up to you."

I'm sticking with Experience Corps because : I love to see the children overcome their circumstances, and I love to be a part of that. I tell them that they can face any challenge that comes along. My father said, 'What you learn, you pass on." So that's what I try to do.

A Letter from the CEO
Like millions of others, I watched the State of the Union address last week. When the President joked about his upcoming 60th birthday, I sat up in my chair. After all, President Bush is the boomer's boomer. He rides a mountain bike, listens to an I-Pod, exudes youthful energy, and has vibrant parents in their 80s.

I was hoping that the President would use the opportunity to replace shopworn attitudes about aging with a vision of how America might benefit from all that vigorous boomers can give back to our communities and our society. I was disappointed. In spite of his own personal vitality, President Bush spoke only the public costs of an aging society. In this respect, the President is hardly alone. Political leaders of all stripes, most of whom are boomers or older, tend to talk about "our seniors" and to focus entirely on the ways we need to protect and support older Americans. That's important, of course, but only half the story.

Boomers are pioneers in a new stage of life between midlife and true old age. Like President Bush, they are full of life and represent an extraordinary pool of social and human capital, waiting and wanting to be tapped to do work that serves the greater good.

But engaging boomers in the work that society needs done -- teaching, tutoring, mentoring, nursing, caring for the elderly -- won't happen by chance. It requires the President and other political leaders to change their collective mindset about aging. It requires us to think "assets" not "burdens," to consider investments in older adults, not just entitlement payments to them.

President Bush proposed a commission "to examine the full impact of baby boom retirements on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid." That's a good idea. But let's expand the commission's charge to include a serious examination of the policies that can encourage and enable boomers to help meet our nation's economic and social challenges.

With creativity and optimism as tools, commission members could look beyond the questions facing Social Security and Medicare to uncover ways we can all benefit from an aging society. Otherwise, we leave an experience dividend of enormous proportions on the table.

President and Mrs. Bush will turn 60 this year, along with former President Clinton, Sylvester Stallone, Dolly Parton, Reggie Jackson, and Diane Keaton -- all vibrant, healthy, and raring to go for decades more. Let's keep them in mind. After all, we can't create tomorrow's retirement by thinking about yesterday's senior citizens.

Thanks for listening. Warm best wishes,
John S. Gomperts
jgomperts@experiencecorps.org

Older Adults and After-School Needs: Are They a Match?

The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation has given a $100,000 grant to Experience Corps to explore whether there's a good match between the assets and interests of older adults and the needs of after-school programs. With help from researchers and an advisory group of experts, Experience Corps will now work to examine the roles older adults can play in after-school programs, particularly those serving high-need urban and rural communities. Experience Corps members in Boston, San Francisco, and Washington DC are now involved in a variety of after-school activities, including tutoring, mentoring, homework help, and instruction in chess, gardening, drama, and more. For more information, contact Michelle Hynes, director of programs at Experience Corps.

Bore No More! Help for Those Who Make Presentations

Would you like to deliver more engaging, informative, and persuasive presentations? If you have wasted enough time with bad presentations – on either side of the podium – have we got a book for you! Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good CausesBased on research across the public interest sector, and incorporating the advice of 20 highly regarded public speaking experts, Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes by Andy Goodman can help you avoid the most commonly made mistakes, structure your information in ways that help audiences absorb it, use PowerPoint more effectively, and deliver your talks with greater confidence. Copies are available free for full-time employees of nonprofits, foundations, government agencies, and educational institutions. Order your free copy here >>

Experience Corps Host in Chicago Starts 'Noble' Book Drive

Here's one for your great-idea file: Working In The Schools (WITS), Chicago's host to Experience Corps, partnered with Barnes & Noble recently on a holiday book drive that resulted in new books for thousands of public school students in the Windy City. Here's how it worked: The three Barnes & Noble stores in downtown Chicago selected WITS as the beneficiary of this year's drive, posted information about WITS near each register, then asked customers at checkout if they would like to add a book for underserved children to their purchase. More than 2,000 said yes. "For a lot of these kids, this might be the first book they've ever owned," says the bookstore's Community Relations Manager Katey Schwartz. Read more about WITS >>

Get Involved

"Lead. Inspire. Change the world. Again." That's the tag line for a new Corporation for National and Community Service campaign to engage more baby boomers in volunteer service. The web site includes new public service announcements, a national searchable database, stories about older adults who are making a difference, and tips and templates for nonprofits. Check it out >>

Deadlines Approaching

  • A new program from Civic Ventures, The Purpose Prize, will award $100,000 each to five Americans over 60 with the passion, smarts, and experience to discover new opportunities, create new programs, or find inventive ways to make lasting change. Don't wait – the last day for nominations is February 28. Read more or submit your nomination here >>
  • New Leaders for New Schools, a national nonprofit, is accepting applications from people who want to lead change for children in low-income communities by becoming urban public school principals. Candidates must have a record of success in leading adults, an expertise in K-12 teaching and learning, the drive to lead an excellent urban school, and a belief in the potential of every child to achieve. The deadline is March 1. Read more or submit your nomination here >>

Nonprofits, Too, Can Make the Jump from Good to Great

Anyone serious about improving their business knows about Jim Collins' book Good to Great -- and anyone serious about improving their nonprofit should note the release of Good to Great and the Social Sectors: A Monograph to Accompany Good to Great. In it, Collins stresses that "a culture of discipline is not a principle of business; it is a principle of greatness," and explains how nonprofits can achieve greatness in their own way. Read more in Newsweek >>

About Experience Corps

Experience Corps, an award-winning program, engages people over 55 in meeting society's greatest challenges. Today, in 23 cities across the country, 2,000 Experience Corps members tutor and mentor elementary school students struggling to learn to read. Independent research shows that Experience Corps boosts student academic performance, helps schools and youth-serving organizations become more successful, and enhances the well-being of the older adults in the process. Experience Corps is a signature program of Civic Ventures.

Learn more about Experience Corps in these cities: Annapolis, MD, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, MD, Beaumont, TX, Boston, MA, Cleveland, Evansville, IN, Grand Rapids, Greater New Haven, Marin County, Mesa, Minneapolis, New York City, Oakland, Philadelphia, Port Arthur, TX, Portland, OR, Revere, MA, San Francisco, St. Paul, Tempe, Tucson, AZ, Washington, DC.

Questions or comments? Send an email to info@experiencecorps.org

Experience Corps is a signature program of Civic Ventures.
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