Service Nation!

On Saturday, Service Nation kicked off their Movement with a Day of Action. Over 2700 service events were hosted around the country to urge individuals and communities to take action. More than 100 events took place in Massachusetts. At Generations Incorporated we hosted our own event: a Bookfolder Bonanza (above). Over 40 folks showed up to help us create the curriculum materials that we'll use in our new programs in Revere this fall.

The Day of Action follows the Service Nation Summit which took place in New York City on Sept 11th & 12th. At the Summit, both Presidential candidates, Senators McCain and Obama, pledged to make national service a priority in their administration. Also at the Summit, every time service was mentioned, folks over the age of 50 were included in the discussion. Experience Corps, our national partner, was specifically highlighted. This is a major change in the way service is seen around the country and I'm giving a cheer at my desk in appreciation.

About ServiceNation: The ServiceNation Movement is a national grassroots campaign that launched immediately following the ServiceNation Summit in New York City. It rallies the voices of ordinary Americans behind the idea that citizen service can strengthen our democracy, and help solve our most persistent social challenges and crises. These voices call upon the next President and Congress, leaders from all sectors of society, and fellow Americans to join to create a new era of service and civic engagement in America: an era in which by 2020, 100 million Americans will volunteer time in schools, workplaces, and faith-based and community institutions each and every year (up from 61 million today), and that increasing numbers of Americans annually will commit a year of their lives to national service.

Mr. and Mrs. Thompson

Paul and Nancy Thompson are in their late 50's and have been married for 40 years. They were raised in the same neighborhood of Boston, attended the same schools, and went to the senior prom with each other. They chose to stay in Boston and raised their kids here. Both of them spent their lives teaching in the Boston Public Schools--Paul as a second grade teacher, Nancy as a high school foreign language teacher.

Both newly retired, who would blame them for taking a well deserved vacation, a hiatus away from the world of work? Instead, both will continue to work part time in their new "encore careers". They had a month off between retirement from the Boston Public Schools and their start date at Generations Incorporated, where they will each be responsible for the oversight of a "cluster" of schools which will host our intergenerational programs.

They are transferring a lifetime of important work to a new sector: helping other older adults, our Experience Corps members, to work as mentors with children. They have immediate credibility...a lifetime of experience in the schools, life-long commitment to Boston youth and Boston communities, and they themselves are of the same generation as the mentors they will oversee.

This is yet another important reminder that, especially in this very challenging economic environment, some of the greatest resources for under-resourced non-profits are at our finger tips. Take a look around and tap into the ever growing population of older adults as they begin to retire. Have fun, have time off, continue to contribute in new and meaningful ways.