May 18, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
Civic Engagement and the Baby Boomer Generation: Research, Policy, and Practice Perspectives
edited by Laura B. Wilson and Sharon P. Simson
This collection of articles, edited by Laura B. Wilson, director of the University of Maryland’s Center on Aging, and Sharon P. Simson, a research professor at the center, examines current issues and trends in recruiting baby boomers as volunteers.
The essays discuss the role that members of the boomer generation will play at nonprofit organizations as they begin to retire in the coming years. For many nonprofit groups in need of volunteers, this book provides data and methods to boost volunteer ranks with a corps of highly skilled retirees.
For example, one article by Ms. Wilson, Karen Harlow-Rosentraub, and Jack Steele examines how AmeriCorps, which traditionally pursues people ages 17 to 25 to participate in community-service projects in exchange for scholarships, has reached out to older Americans.
The group’s Legacy Corps program offers a monthly stipend and educational awards for lifelong-learning opportunities to each participant who annually logs 450 hours of “respite care,” helping out elderly people who require full-time care.
After six months, volunteers reported improved physical and emotional health, increased involvement in political activities, and expanded understanding of aging issues, such as providing care for dependent adults.
Publisher: Haworth Press, 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, N.Y. 13904; (800) 429-6784; fax (800) 895-0582; orders@haworthpress.com; http://www.haworthpress.com; 354 pages; $29.95 paper; $49.95 cloth; ISBN 0-7890-0578-6.
