Fargo, N.D., is known for cold winters and a population descended from Scandinavian and German immigrants. The town is 94 percent white and it’s an aging community–one in five residents is over age 55.But Fargo–actually a part of the bigger Fargo-Moorhead metro area that straddles North Dakota and Minnesota–isn’t a stranger to diversity. The town has seen an influx of about 3,700 refugees over the past 10 years from more than 40 war-torn countries as part of a federal resettlement program that helps immigrants start new lives here.The immigrants come from countries like Iraq and Somalia, Bosnia and–most recently–Burundi. Most often, they arrive with little knowledge of English, let alone how to apply for a job, food stamps or a driver’s license.
The influx of immigrants has had a profound impact on the life of Michelle McRae, a college professor who retired in 2001 but soon found herself at the helm of a non-profit group working to smooth the integration of Fargo-Moorhead’s newcomers.
McRae’s work has just been recognized with a 2008 Purpose Prize. The award, given annually by the Encore Careers campaign–recognizes trailblazers who have demonstrated creative and effective work tackling social problems. This year, the winners were chosen from 1,000 nominees; six winners will receive $100,000 prizes, with another nine recipients getting $10,000 awards.
The Purpose Prize, now in its third year, was created to promote and encourage civic engagement among baby boomers. Along with McRae, this year’s winners include an inventor designing agricultural equipment for sustainable third world agriculture, an ex-marketing executive who started an organization to help keep young ex-offenders out of prison and the creator of a group that promotes green technology as a revitalization tool for rural African-American communities in South Carolina.
Arianna Huffington and others have taken note of President-elect Obama’s plans to call Americans to public service to address the urgent issues facing the country. In a July campaign speech, Obama outlined his ideas for expanding existing programs like the Peace Corps, but also launching new ones focused on education and energy. He also discussed public service at the Service Nation summit in September.
Much of the conversation around national service so far has focused on young people. But civic engagement and service to the community also is a very hot topic among older Americans, especially baby boomers. The older boomers now closing in on 60 came of age during the social and political upheaval of the 1960s and early 1970s. Since then, they’ve been hard at work raising families, building careers and sending kids to college; now, many anticipate using newfound free time to get back involved.
Boomers were a big force in Obama’s army of campaign foot soldiers. Tapping into the boomer generation for broader public service would have a huge impact, in part because there are so many of us. The boomer generation is the largest in American history, accounting for roughly 78 million Americans. Whenever it moves in a particular direction, the impact is huge.
And there are clear signs at a shift is underway. A recent study by the Metlife Foundation and Civic Ventures—a think tank focused on engaging older adults in socially meaningful work—found that a surprisingly large number of boomers already have moved from primary careers into “encore careers” that combine income with personal meaning and social impact.
Somewhere between six to 10 percent of Americans age 44 to 70 are already engaged in encore careers, according to the study. So, we’re talking about 5.3 to 8.4 million people engaged in service-oriented fields such as education, health care, government and the non-profit sector.
And about half of boomers not already in encore careers said that’s where they see themselves heading. If they follow through on that ambition, the national service army of boomers would grow by millions more.
Marc Freedman, the CEO of Civic Ventures and a thought leader in this area, has advocated a new “social compact” between government and boomers. Fiscal and financial assistance would come in return for longer working lives in areas of high social need. That might include eliminating taxation of Social Security benefits to make the benefit more valuable, and plugging the “Medicare gap” years by making it possible for people in their 50s to buy into Medicare.
Indeed, the Metlife/Civic Ventures survey shows that affordable health care is one of the biggest challenge boomers face in leaving their careers to pursue national or community service.
Civic Ventures will celebrate and explore midlife career transitions to public service in early December when it convenes the Encore Careers Summit on the campus of Stanford University. Hundreds of people already in service-oriented second careers will be on hand to network and share their experiences. A highlight will be the announcement of the 2008 Purpose Prize winners–a sort of genius grant for midlife social innovators that comes with a $100,000 prize to the winners.
President-elect Obama hasn’t named a national service czar to his team yet–but whomever he has in mind could pick up some great ideas at the Summit for leveraging experience and talent for the public good.
Here’s Obama talking about public service on the campaign trail earlier this year.
Last year think tank Civic Ventures partnered with the Metlife Foundation in a grant-making program for community colleges aimed at fostering innovation in education for mid-life career changers. Civic Ventures began the project by asking community colleges all over the country if they were interested in a small seed grants to test innovative ways to engage boomers in encore careers–and 10 percent of the colleges volunteered.
Ten community colleges were selected, and now Civic Ventures has issued a report on the lessons learned to date. I found especially interesting the detailed profiles contained in Pathways to Encore Careers [pdf file] on the programs the schools have developed, which are focused mainly on careers in education and health care. The report is useful reading for anyone interested in the intersection of career transition and education.
Considering the tough economic climate, community colleges can be an invaluable resource for career re-training.
A coalition of groups including AARP, Elderhostel, and the Vital Aging Network sponsored the First Positive Aging Conference in December 2007. I attended the event, and it was an extraordinary gathering of more than 400 people who came together to learn, talk and network about purpose, meaning and vitality in the second half of life. That group was made up mainly of professionals devoted to the fields of aging, learning and health. But the second Positive Aging Conference will be held next month, and it’s been thrown open to the public. What’s more, the event is going national and virtual via webcast, making the event easily accessible to people all over the country without leaving their home towns.Conference organizers explain:
On November 12, 2008, the Center for Spirituality & Healing will host the 2008 conference at the University of Minnesota. This day-long conference will explore purpose, meaning and vitality in the second half of life. It will feature experts and thought leaders including Richard Bolles, author of What Color is Your Parachute?; Richard Leider, author of Something to Live For and founder of The Purpose Project; Mary Jo Kreitzer, Director, Center for Spirituality & Healing; Harry R. Moody, Director, Academic Affairs for AARP; Dan Buettner, explorer, educator and author of The Blue Zone: Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who Live the Longest; and Joanne Disch, Director of the Densford Center for Nursing Leadership.
The 2008 Conference will be webcast throughout the country to spark conversations in local communities about positive aging. Participants will be invited to respond to speakers’ remarks and discuss strategies to promote this concept within their respective regions. Participants will also receive a Toolkit for Positive Aging, filled with resources and ways to get or remain engaged.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently launched a new website specifically targeted for boomers interested in becoming entrepreneurs. 50+Entrepreneur isn’t an overwhelmingly rich site from a content standpoint, but it does include useful information on how to tap the SBA for advice and small business loans. It’s also interesting that SBA is recognizing the enormous need for education and assistance as boomers transition into second careers. Here’s what the agency had to say about it in a press release:
“The SBA is working hard to increase opportunities for small businesses of the baby boomer generation at every stage of their business development through better technology tools and effective services through the agency’s district offices and resource partners,” SBA Acting Administrator Sandy K. Baruah said. “We believe 50-plus entrepreneurs will drive significant new businessgrowth in the coming years.”
Components of the new Web site include a self-assessment feature to help the aspiring entrepreneur determine his or her business readiness, information on borrowing and credit, and inspirational success stories from baby boomer entrepreneurs. The Web site will help users evaluate the reasons for business ownership after age 50, the risks involved, and how to devise a plan of action at every phase of business development.
This is the first new offering under the structure of the re-launched Office of Entrepreneurship Education (OEE). OEE combines SBA’s online education programs, business and community initiatives, and outreach to underserved markets under a single umbrella.
If you’ve been distracted lately by lipstick, bridges to nowhere and the ongoing financial meltdown on Wall Street, you might have missed one of this election season’s most significant events. On the seventh anniversary of 9/11, Barack Obama and John McCain participated in a presidential forum on national service. The forum was part of a Service Nation summit convened in New York City to commemorate the day of national tragedy. It was a solemn, thoughtful reflection on how America has changed since 9/11.
The forum focused on ways that Americans can serve their communities and their country at a time of critical need, and the candidates had a chance to air their ideas on promoting civic engagement.
Much of the conversation revolved around national service by young people. But civic engagement and service to the community also is a very hot topic among older Americans, especially baby boomers.
The older boomers now closing in on 60 came of age during the social and political upheaval of the 1960s and early 1970s. Since then, they’ve been hard at work raising families, building careers and sending kids to college; now, many anticipate using newfound free time to get back involved. Mobilizing even a portion of the boomer generation could yield enormous results, simply because the group is so large. The boomer generation is the largest in American history, accounting for roughly 78 million Americans. Whenever this group moves in a particular direction, the impact is huge.
Fargo, N.D., is known for cold winters and a population descended from Scandinavian and German immigrants. The town is 94 percent white and it’s an aging community–one in five residents is over age 55.But Fargo–actually a part of the bigger Fargo-Moorhead metro area that straddles North Dakota and Minnesota–isn’t a stranger to diversity. The town has seen an influx of about 3,700 refugees over the past 10 years from more than 40 war-torn countries as part of a federal resettlement program that helps immigrants start new lives here.The immigrants come from countries like Iraq and Somalia, Bosnia and–most recently–Burundi. Most often, they arrive with little knowledge of English, let alone how to apply for a job, food stamps or a driver’s license.
Arianna Huffington
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently launched a new website specifically targeted for boomers interested in becoming entrepreneurs. 
