"It's like a job. You have goals. You see results" -Yuriy, Experience Corps Member

Experience Corps will expand to Grand Rapids, Michigan this fall to engage more older adults in efforts to improve early childhood literacy. Gerontology Network will host the award-winning national service program for people over 55, which is already active in 18 other cities.

"Gerontology Network programs involve over 100 older adult volunteers serving over 500 children," says Experience Corps CEO John S. Gomperts. "With 30 years of experience and great success working with older adult volunteers, Gerontology Network is an ideal partner for Experience Corps in Grand Rapids."

And Grand Rapids is ready for Experience Corps. Students at the first two schools to host Experience Corps teams this year -- Jefferson Elementary and the Southeast Academic Center -- have struggled with reading, English, and Language Arts on state standardized tests.

In the first year, 20 new Experience Corps members will go to work in Grand Rapids schools. They will join 2,000 other Experience Corps members who now serve as tutors and mentors to children in 19 cities, where they help teach children to read and develop the confidence and skills to succeed in school and in life.

The area's aging population also makes it an optimal home for Experience Corps. Over the last decade, the number of adults between the ages of 45 and 65 in the region increased by 38 percent -- and over one in three residents is 45 or older.

"Grand Rapids is ready to provide even more meaningful opportunities for older adults to get involved in the community," says Rev. Peggy Lawrence Burns, vice president of Gerontology Network's Older Adult Volunteer Programs and the Experience Corps Grand Rapids project director. "Experience Corps fits perfectly with Gerontology Network's mission of enhancing the quality of life and promoting the independence of older adults."

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.

To learn more about Experience Corps Grand Rapids or for information on how to get involved, contact Rev. Peggy Lawrence Burns at 616-771-9748 or pburns@gerontologynetwork.org.

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Experience Corps, a national service program for Americans over 55, works to show that older adults are an untapped national resource and can be engaged to help solve serious social problems, including illiteracy. Experience Corps is a signature program of Civic Ventures.