3.2: Baby Boomers
Harnessing Baby Boomers’ Experience Other Information:
Summary: Baby Boomers are a highly talented, highly motivated group that could drive solutions to some of our most intractable
social problems. Capturing their experience and energy and engaging them in helping to solve critical social issues through
service must become high-priority goals for the nation in the coming years. Whether providing volunteer services or receiving
services, Boomers and other older Americans stay active and connected to their community, thereby improving their quality
of life. Detailed Narrative: It is clear that America is on the forefront of an unprecedented demographic revolution, with
older members of the 77 million Baby Boomer generation a mere five years away from age 65. Beginning about 2010, the share
of the population that is age 65 and over will begin to climb substantially, resulting in profound implications for our society,
our social service delivery systems, our economy, as well as Social Security and Medicare. Baby Boomers bring the advantages
of experience and education, and are motivated to make a difference. There is tremendous potential to provide solutions to
some of our most intractable social needs, including the expanding need for independent living support. Research tells us
that Baby Boomers, as a whole, will not withdraw completely from the work place in “traditional retirement.” Instead, they
will seek a balance of work, leisure, civic engagement, and other interests. Offering opportunities to capture their talents
and experience and engaging them in the process of solving critical social issues through service must become high-priority
goals for the nation in the coming years. One such critical social issue is independent living. Demands for affordable long-term
care and independent living services in particular will increase sharply in the next four decades. Beginning in 2020, approximately
one in six Americans will be age 65 or older. Americans ages 85+, the group most in need of long term care services, including
community-based care, is projected to triple by 2040, from today’s four million individuals to about 14 million. The discussion
about America’s aging Baby Boomers often centers on the increasing costs ahead for taxpayers as the ranks of older Americans
swell. The other side of the equation, however, is the potential of Baby Boomers to deliver critically needed services, including
independent living support. According to the Government Accounting Office, “Family and other informal caregivers play a critical
role in supplying the bulk of long-term care. Effective policy must create incentives and supports for enabling informal caregivers
to continue providing assistance.” America faces a near-term opportunity to unleash an unprecedented increase in civic engagement
and volunteering in local communities. As we look to the horizon, we believe that the aging of the Boomer generation can produce
a civic revolution that: Provides opportunities for Boomers to deliver independent living to today’s seniors in need, including
the 80-plus population; Lays the foundation for affordable independent living services to meet the rapidly accelerating demand;
and Offers fulfillment that yields a higher quality of life for Boomers who serve. Baby Boomers on the whole are better educated
and will live longer and healthier lives than any generation before them. They offer an array of experiences, talents, and
available time. If properly engaged, they could have a positive impact on some of our country’s most challenging social problems
and alleviate the volunteer sector’s greatest recruiting challenge—finding volunteers during the workday. Picture communities
where volunteers help improve the quality of life for increasing numbers of older Americans by helping them continue to live
independently in their homes. Envision some of the more than 22.4 million informal caregivers in the United States receiving
respite services from volunteers to help alleviate caregiver burnout. George Ferguson, a retired Baby Boomer, started mentoring
a seven-year-old boy through the Grandfathers Group, an RSVP project in Alexandria, Virginia. The child worried about how
long Ferguson would be available. Five years later, he is still mentoring the same child. Imagine how our society would be
different if Boomers were deployed to ensure two million more pre-school children from impoverished neighborhoods were ready
for school. Consider how mobilizing retired teachers could solve tutor shortages in depressed urban areas. The Baby Boomer
population contains a wealth of talent. Many Boomers are still working; others are retired, or semi-retired. They have an
array of extensive experiences in areas such as law, medicine, and education, management of a home or small business, and
a wealth of other areas. They can be a valuable resource to strengthen nonprofits and the clients they serve. The Corporation
is focused on creating meaningful and flexible service opportunities that both engage the large number of Boomers who currently
volunteer as well as motivate non-volunteers who are looking for the time and the opportunity to make a difference in their
communities. In addition to helping solve community needs, service offers important benefits for Boomer volunteers. Older
Americans who receive or deliver service are more connected with the community, remain more active, and have a more optimistic
outlook. Research tells us that Boomers are different from the population of older Americans who currently volunteer in their
communities. First, they tend to respond more positively to articulations of the benefits to themselves, including personal
fulfillment, excitement, social opportunities, or opportunities to learn something new. Second, they will generally respond
more favorably to flexible opportunities, such as those that allow for full-time, part-time, or episodic service. They also
respond to service that meets their personal interests and to opportunities that demonstrate visible benefits to the community.
Consequently, we must support programs and institutions that effectively engage these Boomers. Currently most of the volunteers
age 55 and over who participate in Corporation supported activities serve through Senior Corps programs: RSVP, Senior Companion
Programs (SCP) and Foster Grandparent Program (FGP), but Boomers (who by the end of 2006 will be ages 42 through 60) also
serve in AmeriCorps*VISTA and AmeriCorps*State and National. Over the next five years, the Corporation will build on its experience
recruiting Boomers in national service programs by: 1) assessing how the skills of this group can be tapped; 2) strengthening
our support for engaging Boomers in Senior Corps programs; 3) exploring strategies for increasing the participation of Boomers
in AmeriCorps; and 4) encouraging collaboration between Senior Corps and AmeriCorps in promoting service and volunteerism
among Baby Boomers as they reach the traditional retirement age. We are standing at the dawn of a new era if we can successfully
recruit Boomers into community service; but that cultural shift will require great effort. Making full use of Boomers’ experience
will take strategic and extended commitments from nonprofit groups, business, and government, with each group offering unique
and attractive opportunities for engaging Boomers (such as creating flexible work schedules for service participation). By
changing how nonprofits view and use volunteers and pioneering alternative models of service, we will take full advantage
of Baby Boomers’ talents, skills and experience and make tomorrow better for people of all ages. NATIONAL TARGET FOR 2010:
Engage an additional 3 million Baby Boomers in volunteering, up from 25.8 million in 2005 CORPORATION TARGETS FOR 2010: Engage
500,000 Baby Boomers in Corporation-sponsored national service programs as participants and recruited volunteers Ensure at
least 75 percent of Baby Boomers in Senior Corps and AmeriCorps rate their overall service/volunteer experience as excellent
Ensure at least 75 percent of Baby Boomer volunteers in Senior Corps and AmeriCorps believe programs have given them a significant
chance to bring about change in their community Provide (through service and volunteering) 250,000 seniors support from Corporation-sponsored
national service programs to live independently Provide 100,000 families and caregivers of seniors support from Corporation-sponsored
national service programs
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