INCREASING CAPACITY:
ENGAGEMENT OF BABY BOOMERS AS VOLUNTEERS

PART II: CREATIVE PROGRAM MODELS

Introduction:

Part II explores creative programs under Jewish auspices that engage baby boomers as volunteers.

This section focuses on creative boomer volunteer efforts by individual agencies. The section concludes with a brief overview of general boomer volunteer preferences regarding traditional service opportunities. Information for this section has been taken from telephone interviews, the AJFCA List Serve survey, and from the Boomer Engagement Overview Report on the AJFCA website.

SUMMARY OF GENERAL BOOMER VOLUNTEER TRENDS

Several survey respondents noted the following:

• Appropriate opportunities for highly skilled retirees must be interesting, meaningful and flexible.
• Many volunteers are extremely busy and prefer short, episodic volunteering.
• Some boomers will come forward who will make longer term, more intensive commitments to agencies.
• It can be uncomfortable for some older boomers to work closely with frail seniors who are not aging well.

INDIVIDUAL AGENCY CREATIVE PROGRAMS

Ann Arbor, MI

Patient Partners

This is a new advocacy program where all current volunteers are baby boomers. The program trains volunteers, most of whom have either “helping profession/social work” backgrounds or personal care giving experiences, to facilitate communication with medical personnel during appointments. Volunteers participate in a 15-hour program that includes “Aging 101,” basic medical language, how to be assertive but not threatening to medical staff, effective listening and note taking, and in-service training.

It has not been difficult to recruit for this project as it fits well with the boomer desire to “make a difference” and use their skills. The coordinator interviews each person individually; volunteers must be effective advocates but not adversarial to the medical establishment. Volunteers also provide accompaniment to medical procedures. Transportation is provided by the JFS CareVan, a JFS transportation program, or arranged separately by the client. The agency is in the process of packaging its training program and offering it to other organizations.

Contact: Deborah Renner, Coordinator, Volunteer Services, Deborah@jfsannarbor.org

JFS of Washtenaw County, Ann Arbor, MI

Detroit, MI

Detroit has several volunteer programs where the majority of volunteers are boomers:

Project Chessed

This is a program that links the Jewish medically uninsured with pro bono physicians and dentists. The uninsured individuals are treated in the professionals’ offices.

Jewish Legal Assistance Program

Jewish lawyers from the community consent to have one pro bono JFS client a year who is in need of legal representation. Lawyers help clients dealing with divorce, bankruptcy, criminal matters and Holocaust survivor documentation to receive pensions.

Home Repair Program

JFS also started a program with the Builders Association in the area to have builders do pro bono work for clients in need of home repair. The program connects those willing to provide the service with those in need of the work. A good number of those volunteers are boomers.

Mentor Connection

This program enhances the quality of life for youth through supportive mentoring relationships that increase self-esteem, encourage academic achievement and improve social skills to help young people lead successful, healthy lives. Currently, 54 of the mentors are boomers, men and women who are empty nesters or have teenage/young adult children who can open their hearts to mentoring a child.

Contact: Norm Keane, CEO, nkeane@jfsdetroit , and Lindsay Leder, Director of Volunteer Services lleder@jfsdetroit.org , JFS, Detroit, MI

Houston, TX

Boomer Volunteers Assuming Leadership Positions

Baby boomers have been essential to the Houston volunteer effort. Several years ago, the agency engaged in a str ategic planning process; one outcome was the decision to expand volunteer services. This dovetailed with the CEO desire for boomer volunteers to “grow the organization.”

This resulted in the following:

• A Volunteer Coordinates Volunteer Services : The chairperson of the volunteer services component of the strategic plan volunteered to become the Coordinator of Volunteer Services. Although she is a volunteer, and an agency board member, she approaches this position “as a job.” She handles criminal background checks, interviews potential volunteers, and has created a friendly visiting program. She meets regularly with the CEO and wrote a grant for an 18-hour-a-week assistant, which was funded.
• Volunteer Guild: There is a Volunteer Guild, a group composed primarily of boomers, which provides the “right language and atmosphere” to attract boomers. The Guild is involved with a range of volunteer opportunities, from projects that entail a one-time commitment to on-going activities. There is one larger special event that includes recruitment and a series of smaller, focused lunches.
• Boomers Lead Workshops : A boomer leads the four-week Job Search Workshop and another spearheads the Financial Well-Being Workshop.
• Every attempt is made to use volunteers to do “jobs” without pay. One volunteer works three days per week coordinating the chaplaincy program.
• The agency maintains a list of “back burner” projects and makes an effort to find meaningful tasks for volunteers, related to their interests and skills.

Contact: Linda Burger, CEO, JFS, Houston, TX, lburger@jfshouston.org

Los Angeles, CA

Paraprofessional Training Program

This is an innovative ten week training program to place “leadership volunteers” who are mostly boomers in “hands-on” programs throughout the agency, including assisting with intake, working at shelters, senior centers and the food pantry, teaching computer skills, I&R, peer counseling, and working in the volunteer services office. Volunteers commit at least 4-6 hours a week at the agency for at least one year. Training exposes volunteers to all agency programs and includes a thorough introduction to communication skills and working with people in a social service environment. After training, paraprofessionals choose a placement with the Volunteer Coordinator. Several graduates of the training program are utilized by the volunteer services office to help that office to expand. An attempt has been made to recruit Russian, Spanish and Farsi speaking paraprofessionals.

Contact: Doreen Klee, Director of Volunteer Services, dklee@jfsla.org , JFSLA, CA

Louisville, KY

Boomer Volunteer Program:

JFCS created a specific strategy to develop the agency as “the place to be for boomers to volunteer, use services, and to donate.”

Boomer Task Force : The agency created the Boomer Task Force, staffed by the CEO and chaired by two boomer board members. The Task Force involved many community leaders, requiring a commitment of four hours of time. The Task Force has served as a brainstorming group, getting input on key issues of boomers and their service needs.

Foundation Grant to Start : The agency received a three-year grant from the Retirement Research Foundation to expand volunteer services to frail elderly. This involved the hiring of a volunteer coordinator who recruited boomers to volunteer in areas of transportation, friendly visiting, and telephone reassurance. When the grant concluded, the agency continued to fund the salary for the Volunteer Coordinator.

The Boomer Expo : The Boomer Expo features a series of booths on subjects such as housing, education, health care, travel and learning. The Expo generates income for the agency.

Ready Set : A series of workshops for boomers in a salon-like setting, 5-7 PM, wine and hor d’oevres, $10 a person, on specific topics, fun, informal, and conducted as a “conversation.”

Employment Assistance : Boomer volunteers are especially helpful and valuable at the following two agency programs:

• The Employment Advisory Council: Volunteers work with people who are unemployed.
• The Microenterprise Program: Volunteers help counsel people starting small businesses; help them develop business plans, etc. on a “one-on-one” basis.

Contact Person: Judy Tiell, CEO, jftiell@jfcslouisville.org , JFCS, Louisville, KY

Mercer Co., NJ

Senior Services : Boomers are an integral part of Secure At Home, by providing special “chores” that enable seniors to age successfully in their own homes. Projects that couples can do together are appealing and include such activities as friendly visiting and delivering meals.

Contact: Laura Perlman, Coordinator of Volunteer Services, laurap@jfcsonline.org , JF&CS of Greater Mercer Co., NJ

Minneapolis, MN

Boomer Volunteer Leadership

Three highly experienced volunteers have been engaged as the agency training/orientation leaders, contacting and meeting incoming volunteers in small groups or in one-on-one settings to provide in-depth information about volunteering at JFCS. Many serve as chairs or co-chairs for programs, client events and/or fundraising.

Financial Management/Older Adult Services

Some boomers serve as household financial managers, providing support to older adults who need help paying their bills or organizing personal finances and communication.

Vocational Services

The agency would like to utilize more baby boomers in its vocational division to provide job search support and also as team leaders to plan and execute community outreach activities.

Long Distance Volunteering and Job Sharing

Many baby boomer volunteers leave Minneapolis for a significant portion of the year. The agency telephone reassurance program enables boomer volunteers, no matter where they are located, to call clients using cell phones. Also, the agency is in the very early stages of researching the feasibility of partnering with other JFS agencies located in warmer climates to create some job sharing volunteer opportunities between agencies.

Contact: Judy Halper, CEO, jhalper@JFCSMPLS.org and Debra Savitt, Program Manager, Volunteer Resources, dsavitt@JFCSMPLS.org , JFS, Minneapolis, MN

Montreal, QC

Families at Risk

The agency matches boomers with families at risk, usually with an identified child, where boomers play a supportive grandparent role. Often a single mom feels alone or unsupported and needs some extra support in how to parent, organize and prioritize. Agency social workers recognize that these clients, sometimes potential youth protection cases, need some concrete hand holding guidance in the home setting.

The volunteers themselves are often retired, have raised their own families but are not yet busy with grandchildren, or their own adult children are living out of town and they are looking to fill their time. They feel like they are part of a professional team, while making a difference using their natural expertise and life skills.

Boomer volunteers provide transportation, help at mealtime and homework time, always with the intent of modeling rather than doing. Agency staff help volunteers to create boundaries for themselves as well as for the clients. The agency asks for a one-year (school year) commitment; there are a number of volunteers who have been engaged with their families for two and three years.

Senior Connections Program

The agency matches adults age 50 plus with its mental health clients 50 plus. The concept is to encourage healthy aging in the client population while at the same time encouraging the boomers to volunteer, to raise their awareness, and to reduce the stigma of mental health. This is a new program; participation was solicited through the newspaper, speaking to interest groups, and word of mouth.

Each volunteer was interviewed individually and brought together for training. By the end of the first meeting the group of 10 had become cohesive and asked when they could meet again to debrief once they started volunteering with their "partners." The program was presented as “theirs”; they have input and can “tweak” it to meet their needs. Also there is a lot of flexibility in hours and times of day, which is important for this group.

Contact: Linda Mestel, Volunteer Coordinator, Linda.mestel@ometz.ca , Agence Ometz, Montreal, QC

Palm Beach, Fl

Ambassadors Strategic Model ®

This model is a non-traditional, community-building, peer-volunteer strategy designed to build “social capital.” This civic engagement model connects individuals to others, with a focus on social transformation.

There are currently 62 volunteer Ambassadors, primarily Jewish boomers, representing 16 gated-communities. The Ambassadors provide a network of support and services, including outreach, I&R and other services, to older adults in their gated communities who need informal assistance to maintain their independence.

Through the recruitment of volunteer Ambassadors, the agency builds community and creates a system within gated-communities to help those in need and to strengthen organizational outreach.

AJFCS’ professional staff facilitates the engagement of peer-volunteers, connects Ambassadors with life-long learning opportunities and helps Ambassadors achieve goals unique to their own defined communities, within a neighbor-helping-neighbor paradigm of mutual aid and support. The Ambassador for each gated community determines how he/she will engage and what his/her focus and activity will be, in conjunction with the Community Engagement Coordinator.

The impact of the Ambassadors Strategic Model ® decreases the isolation of older adults living alone. Through mutual support, residents increase their sense of well-being by connecting to information and services, thereby promoting aging-in-place. Because the Ambassadors reside in the community themselves, they serve as “an early warning system” for those in need.

Contact: Jenni Frumer, Associate Executive Direc tor, jfrumer@jfcsonline.org ,, and Annette Muffs Botnick, Community Engagement Coordinator, abotnick@jfcsonline.org , AJFCS, Palm Beach Co., FL

San Diego, CA

Volunteer Engagement Committee

JFS is developing a Volunteer Engagement Committee to help facilitate the anticipated influx of baby boomers. The chair is a boomer retired social worker; she is trying to recruit boomers beyond the agency board.

The agency is also developing a professional/leadership campaign. The newer volunteer opportunities will be seen more as “volunteer consultants” – event planners, web designers, program evaluators, etc. This is also in the process of development. The agency is working with a team of graduate students who are assisting in the creation of an action plan to incorporate these leadership volunteers.

Contact: Melinda Wilkes, Coordinator of Volunteer Services, JFS of San Diego, melindab@jfssd.org

SUMMARY OF BOOMER PREFERENCES REGARDING TRADITIONAL VOLUNTEER SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES

• Hunger/Food : These programs are extremely popular with boomers; boomers respond to the immediacy of hunger and are eager to volunteer at food pantries, food drives and other hunger related services. The volunteer experience is focused, time limited, and flexible in terms of hours, as well as providing immediate gratification.
• Mentoring Children and Youth: Boomer volunteers are attracted to and utilized in this direct service volunteer program, which is popular because of the opportunity to interact with younger generations.
• Friendly Visiting/Bikur Cholim : Many agencies successfully involve boomer volunteers in friendly visiting/bikur cholim programs. Some boomers do not want to engage in these services because they are too similar to the care giving they provide to family and friends.
• Transportation: Many JFS agencies need volunteers to assist with transportation because public transportation in the community is limited or non-existent. Agencies report success with boomer volunteer drivers, especially when the time commitment is flexible. Some boomers are discouraged from serving as transportation volunteers because of insurance concerns.

Please contact ajfca@ajfca.org if you have questions or comments.

August, 2009

Note: AJFCA thanks those who contributed information to this report. Some responses have been incorporated into the general comments and/or into Part I of the report.

This report was prepared by Joan Strauss on behalf of AJFCA.