National Mentoring Month

Today, to celebrate National Mentoring Month, our mentors, along with AmeriCorps members and staff, got up and started dancing with local author Irene Smalls.

Smalls gave an exhilarating and interactive performance that wove together stories about her own experiences with her mentor, her children and black history. A former Miss Black New York State, Smalls is the author of 12 children’s books, including Don’t Say Ain’t, My Pop Pop and Me, and others that we use in our programs.

The morning proved to be a huge success, and most importantly gave us a special chance to thank our Experience Corps members for the important work they do as mentors.

National Mentoring Month marked its seventh year in 2008. Through various celebrations and activities, organizations across the country celebrated the success of mentoring, spreading the word to recruit more mentors and promote growth of mentoring programs nationwide.

This year at Generations Incorporated, 350 older adults will serve as academic mentors to approximately 2,500 Boston youth.

"You Will Still Need Me But What Will You Call Me When I'm 64?*

I am a 58 year old baby boomer, and am quite comfortable with that moniker. I have a gazillion peers, and we are very special. "Yes, in fact, the world does evolve around us."

My colleague, born just a few years ahead of the b-gen, is an active senior. She chooses to work part time. "Now that I've retired, I can work for the fun of it."

Another 65+ associate teaches at a local university. She enjoys this special time of life. "Geezerhood is mighty under-rated!" she announced recently.

My neighbor is 53. She is a skilled ICU nurse and wants to pick up an extra shift now and then. So I helped her with her resume. "Erase all those graduation dates," I advised. She is a mature worker and afraid of age discrimination.

My brother retired five years ago when he was 59. He spends lots of time fishing. I call him a retiree, but he calls me jealous "It's tough having all this free time on my hands."

By contrast, my oldest sister will soon turn 70, and still works full time. She's an older adult with an attitude. "I'd like to kill my brother." Hey, Pat, I'm with you.

Seriously, the nation must take a hard look at our workplace practices and retirement policies. Current and future generations may well work productively until age 70, 80, even 90.

We can't all go fishing when we turn 65. And frankly the US would be hard pressed if we did.


*Title borrowed from the song: When I'm 64: The Beatles

Non-Profits: Tapping into the Boomer Generation

My father never retired--he worked until he died at the young age of 73. Dad didn't know how he would fill idle time, so he kept working because it was all he knew.

If Dad were around today, I would reach out to him to manage volunteers at Generations Incorporated. He was a great "people person", with solid management skills and tremendous pride in his work. He owned a successful grocery store in our town, and he inspired and motivated his employees to get results every day.

Cash-strapped non-profit organizations could truly benefit by tapping into the growing numbers of retired and semi-retired persons who live in our communities. They can serve as volunteers to provide direct services and they can also serve in leadership capacities. Those who provide service can be most effective when they are well-supported, have clear expectations, good coordination, and feel appreciated. Often a busy organization doesn't have the staff capacity to provide this kind of support. What a great job for a volunteer!

Those who serve in leadership capacities (such as fundraising, marketing, management of volunteers, etc.) will need training in order to transfer the competencies that they have used in previous work. The potential return on investment for this kind of training could be huge.

Imagine the value added to communities if the non-profit sector taps into this generation. Our plan for expansion over the next four years will rely on our ability to attract this talent. It is key to our sustainability.

Thanks for a great year!

As the school year comes to a close, we at Generations Incorporated look back at a year of wonderful accomplishments. The final numbers are in!

315 Experience Corps Volunteers
5,025 Students
55,000 Hours

That quantifiable data is a testament to the quality caliber of our volunteers and the dedication they put forth. It has been a fun year, a challenging year, a year of new relationships and old friends. In 2007, our 315 Experience Corps members provided more than 55,000 hours of weekly academic mentoring to 2,290 children and one time community service to 2,735 children. That's quite an accomplishment.

Last Thursday we celebrated these accomplishments at the State Room overlooking the Boston skyline. AmeriCorps members, Experience Corps volunteers and staff all sat back to enjoy the view as well as a delicious lunch. Keynote speakers included Charles Desmond of AARP Massachusetts and Ron Bell of the Office of the Public Liaison.

[Ron Bell & Mary Gunn]

[Experience Corps Volunteers and AmeriCorps Members from the Hurley]

Now we move into summer planning stages for the next school year's programming. We're still driving towards our goal of digging deeper into schools-- serving at least 50% of each school's population-- as well as engaging older adults in other facets of Generations Incorporated. It will be a busy summer. We'll be in touch as things develop!

15 Years of Inspiration!

On April 11 we celebrated our fifteenth anniversary with some of our dearest friends. In attendance were several founding board members, Leadership Circle members, and Peri Smilow, the first Executive Director from our Magic Me days. The evening recognized our new Honorary Commitee members, who over the course of our 15 years have invested in our organization in many significant ways. They are pictured at right: Tom Martinson, Peri Smilow, Tom Barrette, and Melora and Andrew Balson.

It was a truly fun evening to come together and reflect on our mission of uniting older adults and youth in service to strengthen individuals and communities. John Gomperts, CEO of Civic Ventures and the national Experience Corps Program cited the the strong leadership role of Generations Incorporated in the national network. Peri told of the beginnings of Magic Me, using a dramtical story-telling format that drove home the power and importance of intergenerational relationships. A moving and funny 10 minute video followed, produced by Vista Volunteer Kate Avery, and in children's book fashion, told the Generations Incorporated story from Magic Me to Generations Incorporated, to Boston's Experience Corps Program.

Thank you to all who helped make Wednesday so memorable!

A Five Year Old Boy in the Principal's Office

Some images this year while traveling from school to school:

• A five year old boy in the Principal's office at 9:00 AM, recites his promises not to kick, bite, or hit anyone today. He is so happy to be sitting in the Principal's lap that he will promise her anything.

• An eight year old boy in another Principal's office, with a high fever, waiting to go home. But he begs to stay because today is the day his mentor comes to see him.

• A second grade girl reading aloud from the book, she pronounces porcupine correctly on the first try. She and her mentor giggle together at the animal's picture.

• An older adult coaches a child through a difficult reading session. The child struggles, not so much because the book is too hard, but because today his life seems hard. They play a rousing game of Connect 4 instead.
  
  If you have the time and are ready to share your experience, we have a child for you.
  
  

From Grad School to Kindergarten

I know, I know. Most people finish Kindergarten before going to grad school. But I needed a catchy line. Please read on.

A sad truth in urban America, including Boston, is that the "achievement gap" exists even before the first day of school for far too many children. There are many reasons for this, most related directly or indirectly to economics.

In Boston, the recently formed Zero to Five Coalition is developing strategies to prepare all young children for school. It is an ambitious plan, led by Mayor Menino, and involving all sectors of our City. Its premise is that all children are born ready to learn and need a nurturing supportive environment to do so, starting with the family and extending into every layer of community. We want to eliminate the achievement gap in Boston before kids enter school, by preparing them be ready for school when they reach Kindergarten.

Generations Incorporated will help. With a grant from an anonymous foundation we are developing a project that will place trained Experience Corps members, all volunteers, in Kindergarten classrooms in our partner schools. Imagine the increased learning that can happen with another caring adult present.

Here's the Grad School part. Wheelock College, a national leader in early education, will teach a specially designed graduate course in Early Childhood Education for our Experience Corps members. They will attend Friday and Saturday classes in April and May, and with additional training by the public schools, will be ready to go to Kindergarten in the fall.

They will then serve in Kindergarten classrooms helping children with literacy skills, specifically oral language, as well as play and social skills. They will help reach out to and support parents, so that parents can learn to be "first teachers" for their children.

We are grateful to our partners in this project, including the BPS Early Childhood Department, Wheelock College, and our donors. This is one example of the impact that we as older adults can make in our community, and our deep desire to do so.

It important to act now, there is a lot of work to be done. If you would like to support this effort, please contact me.