The Voice of Experience
MARCH-APRIL 2007
in this issue
MEMBER PROFILE
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Zeituni Onyango, former computer systems coordinator, Boston

I joined Experience Corps because: I felt that I should help the children in my community. I love people and enjoy interacting with them. My friend had so many wonderful things to say about her work with Experience Corps. Also, I was idle, and this was a chance to get involved.

I know I'm making a difference when: I see the change in children I have worked with. All children are fine as long as they have a good foundation, but there is no foundation without literacy.

My favorite part of tutoring with Experience Corps is: Being able to help children succeed. As an older adult I feel I have much to give young people - as well as my peers. Experience Corps has given me that opportunity.

Working with students teaches me: Just how much I can impact the education of children in the school system. I learn different strategies and approaches to help children and also to improve myself. In addition, being an Experience Corps member has taught me that I can be a leader in my community.

A Letter from the CEO
My father turns 80 next month. In addition to work, politics and family, Dad’s true passion has always been travel. And the big trip he always wanted to take was a safari in Africa.

So in celebration of his coming birthday, last month Dad and I spent an extraordinary two weeks in Tanzania. I won't bore you with stories of camping and animals – and I surely won't subject you to the more than 1,000 pictures we took. Suffice to say, if you ever have a chance to go, grab it.

I thought that in East Africa I would be far from Experience Corps, and for the most part I was. But I have to tell one little story that brought together my trip and my work in the most wonderful way.

Our guide for 11 days was a man named Modest Bayo. He’s been a guide in Tanzania for 17 years, and he knows everything – every tree, animal, geological phenomenon, and political development. A few years ago Bayo started a charter school in his hometown of Karatu to provide a demanding, high quality education for children of the village. He calls it Tumaini, or "hope for the future of Tanzania."


Dad and I spent hours and hours with Bayo every day, so over time we heard a lot about his school. I asked if we could visit the Tumaini School, and Bayo happily agreed.

Dozens of uniformed kids played soccer and other games in the schoolyard as we pulled up. When Bayo and his cousin Theo started the school in 2004, they had 17 students. Today they have almost 170 students – a 1000 percent increase in less than three years. They are currently building a new wing to accommodate even more students.

When Bayo started his school, he remembered his favorite teacher from his youth, Mr. William Panga. Bayo knew that the kids in his hometown needed better educational opportunities, but Bayo also knew he needed help providing it. So he went back to Mr. Panga, who was then retired, and asked if he would be the volunteer leader of the Tumaini Primary School. Mr. Panga agreed – and has been a key part of the leadership of the Tumaini School ever since. Experience in action!

The rest of the safari was amazing, filled with wildlife and packed with experiences Dad and I won’t soon forget. But in addition to seeing lions, cheetahs and giraffes, finding the spirit of Experience Corps in Karatu, Tanzania will be among my fondest memories.

Thanks for indulging me and best wishes to all,

John S. Gomperts
jgomperts@experiencecorps.org

Report Details Booming Potential in Boomer Service

Keeping Baby Boomers Volunteering
The Corporation for National and Community Service calls its new report "the first-ever study to track volunteering among a large sample of baby boomers from year to year." Keeping Baby Boomers Volunteering contains a wide array of fascinating insights into what keeps boomers involved in community service. A few key points:
  • Boomers in their 40s and 50s volunteer at higher rates than previous generations.
  • Boomers who continue to work tend to volunteer more than those who leave the work force.
  • If the right opportunities are provided, the rate of boomer volunteering could double by 2036.
The study also finds that volunteers are much more likely to be donors and to give more than donors who aren't volunteers, which makes volunteer management a fundraising strategy. Read more »

Experience Corps Mentor and Student Wow Governors’ Spouses

From left, Experience Corps tutor Andre Robinson, Michigan First Gentleman Dan Mulhern, and student Javonte Oliphant
Experience Corps member Andre Robinson (left), a retired government employee and father of six, and Javonte Oliphant (right), a DC fifth grader, were the guest speakers recently at a special meeting on mentoring for governors' spouses in Washington. Javonte told the crowd that he gets in trouble at school much less than he used to. When "First Gentleman" Dan Mulhern of Michigan (center) asked why, Javonte said, "Because Mr. Robinson is in my head." When asked if he had any advice for the leaders in the room, Javonte was crystal clear: "They should tell people who aren’t working any more that they should get up and go out and help kids."

Building a Workforce for Good

"If you take just one thought away from this hearing, I hope it is this: people who have finished their midlife careers can be a workforce for good in the 21st century." That’s Experience Corps CEO John Gomperts testifying before the House Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities last month. Gomperts proposed four policy innovations to help spur the creation and mobilization of that "workforce for good." Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) opened the hearing by noting that "service and volunteering lowers dropout rates among teens, lowers costs associated with the aging population, and improves the health and lowers the rates of depression" among older adults. Read more (or watch the webcast) »

What Makes Education Policy Work?

Tired of stale presidential campaigns rehashing the same old platitudes about improving education through "this or that bureaucratic reshuffle?" New York Times columnist David Brooks has a cure. Candidates, he says, should focus on what really determines children’s success: their relationships both in and out of the classroom. Brooks says creative candidates insist that we "get over the definition of education as something that takes place in schools between the hours of 8 and 3, between the months of September and June, and between the ages of 5 and 18," while acknowledging that "early childhood attachments shape lifelong learning competence." Read more »

Study of Pilots Finds ‘Experience Tops Youth’

Remember the story about Captain Engelhart from last month’s e-newsletter? He’d be pleased with the results of a new study that finds airline pilots in their 60s outperform their younger counterparts in rigorous flight simulation tests. According to an article in the journal Neurology, "the findings suggest that people with the most expertise who stay active in their careers don’t necessarily lose ground when they reach traditional retirement age." In an editorial in the same journal, Dr. Joseph L. Sirven of the Mayo Clinic and Daniel G. Morrow of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana suggest that, "It is time to reconsider fixed age limits for the workplace and consider transitioning to competency-based evaluations of performance." Read more »

Toolkit Recommends Engaging Older Adults in Classroom

Recognizing the essential role parents and families play in a successful education, the Public Education Department in New Mexico has developed a toolkit of materials to help parents and teachers build strong relationships. Divided into three sections – Teacher Tools, Family Tools, and Professional Development Tools – the kit explores how each person in a child’s life can help improve communication, promote positive parenting, increase volunteer service, and "collaborate with the community." In particular, teachers are encouraged to look for opportunities to engage "senior volunteer and service organizations" in the classroom. Read more »

Media Coverage Spotlights Exceptional Experience Corps Members

Experience Corps members working with struggling children have been the focus of several major articles in recent weeks. In Tucson, the Arizona Daily Star relates the story of Frank Nibley, a retired bank vice president who says Experience Corps has changed his outlook: "You just feel that you have accomplished something." The Oakland Tribune spotlights Michonne Paul, a retired postal worker who also used to lay linoleum and who sometimes brings in a piece of flooring and a tape measure to show students how to calculate a perimeter. And in Oregon, the Portland Tribune tells the story of Cherry Hendrix, a 90-year old tutor who says interacting with students "puts two, three more years on my life."

Experience Corps in the News

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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Copyright © 2008 Civic Ventures. All rights reserved.

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