You Make a Life by What You Give –

1. You Make a Life by What You Give – Plus 50 Volunteerism in Community Colleges “You make a living by what you get, but you make a life by what you give.” Winston Churchill

2. Presenters: Tracy Reilly Kelly, MST Program Director and Manager Plus 50 Initiative & Mature Learning Clark College, Washington Kim Morey, EdD Candidate Program Director Western Dakota Technical Institute Rapid City, South Dakota Sheila Marchbanks Program Director Institutional Services Chaffey College, CA

3. Presentation Schedule 3:00 – 3:10pm What is the “Plus 50 Initiative? 3:10 – 3:25pm Western Dakota Technical Institute: Plus 50 Staffing for Seasonal Employment with the National Park Service 3:25 – 3:40pm Chaffey College: Plus 50 Mentors to Economically Disadvantaged Students 3:40 – 3:55pm Clark College: Volunteerism - The Focus of the Green Team SCORE & Mature Learning 3:55 – 4:00 Questions & Answers

4. The Plus 50 Initiative American Association of Community Colleges Funded with a grant from Atlantic Philanthropies

5. Who is participating – Community Colleges

6. The Demographic Revolution:It’s Here Our nation faces a demographic revolution as 78 million baby boomers enter their retirement years.

7. Not the Stereotypical Retirement Plus 50 adults want to stay actively engaged in the workplace, in education and in service opportunities.

8. What is the Plus 50 Initiative? Innovative program reaching out to adult learners who are age 50 and up that is benchmarking standards of excellence among community colleges nationwide.

9. Kim Morey, EdD Candidate • Program Director • Western Dakota Technical Institute • Rapid City, South Dakota

10. Partnership and TrainingforVolunteers Finding the win, win, win, relationship

11. NPS/WDT Plus 50 Program

12. Partnership • WDT has expertise and experience in designing, promoting, and delivering training to the general public • NPS has expertise in training interpretive guides • WDT has access to Plus 50 funding • NPS has vacant jobs and volunteer opportunities

13. Intrepid learners

14. Training • Existing curriculum & delivery modified to meet Plus 50 preferences • Scheduled one day per week • Lecture, feedback, reflection, student activity interspersed through agenda • Varied and numerous handouts • Upcoming schedules and activities preannounced

15. Experiencing the importance of place

16. Touching recent history

17. Volunteers • Given structured options • Some participate for personal enrichment, some seek paid seasonal positions, others pursue volunteer opportunities • Confidence and commitment boosted by curriculum • Personal experience honored and incorporated

18. Building community in class

19. Sheila Marchbanks • Program Director • Institutional Services • Chaffey College, CA

20. Model Theme • The focus of the Chaffey College Plus 50 model involves a partnership between Plus 50 mentors and students who are underserved, underachieving, and economically disadvantaged • The 2nd focus of the program is to provide need-based and interest-based educational opportunities through workshops, classes, and speakers to the Plus 50 community both in their agencies and at the college

21. Populations Impacted • Chaffey College students of all ages • Historically underserved, underprepared, and economically disadvantaged Chaffey College students in the: • AMAN/AWOMAN program • Automotive Technology • Language Success Center Programs

22. Plus 50 Year I Activities • Develop the Plus 50 community/college mentor program with four agencies serving Plus 50 adults • Secure 4-7 mentors for each of the 3 programs identified in the proposal for underserved, underachieving students • Begin to communicate needs for educational programming based on Plus 50’s needs and interests • Begin development of educational programs for the Plus 50 community agencies

23. Plus 50 Year II Activities • Continue Plus 50 mentor partnership development by increasing mentors from 7-10 in three programs • Expand mentor partnership from 4 to 6 agencies • Fully develop the educational programming including a faculty speaker pool, short term classes and workshops in the Plus 50 partner agencies

24. Plus 50 Year III Activities • Continue efforts from years 1 & 2 based on annual research evaluations with emphasis on sustainability through shared resources • Disseminate information

25. Tracy Reilly Kelly, MST • Program Director and Manager • Plus 50 Initiative & Mature Learning • Clark College, Washington

26. Service and Volunteering Programs and services that support plus 50 learners in finding opportunities to volunteer their skills and talents in a wide variety of locales: • in communities • at community colleges • for nonprofits Only 30% of colleges surveyed report that they have Service and Volunteering programs for Plus 50 students Executive Summary: State of Community College Plus 50 Programs Nationwide

27. When potential volunteers choose an opportunity, what are they looking for? • They have a built in affinity for a particular • type of opportunity • Example: retired executives of SCORE • They have a real interest in a particular theme • Example: National Parks • They are altruistic and want to help others for positive change Example: economically disadvantaged students

28. How do you find the “right” Plus 50 volunteer and the “right fit” for you? • Create manageable, realistic, challengingtasks and objectives • Aim your requests to a target audience • Screen potential volunteers to determine where their interests lie • Create job descriptions, and provide the basic materials and training necessary to carry out the job • Include continued training and opportunity for personal growth • Be sure to determine if they want high or low responsibility

29. Create a professional structure for volunteerism • Packet of “Volunteer Resource Materials” to help you get started • Vital First Step: Locate a Volunteer Coordinator • Contact our team – the packet has our contact information • Lots of resource information available – • a great source is the Plus 50 website www.plus50.aacc.nche.edu

30. Pitfalls of Volunteerism • Plus 50 volunteers have extremely busy lives: • like any volunteers their commitment is of a different nature than paid staff • Competing needs include vacations, grandchildren, the need to obtain paid employment and chronic or sudden illness • A caveat: while volunteers want meaningful work, my experience reinforces that the majority of volunteers are not looking for high responsibility and may wish to take up and finish a task next week – or in two weeks, which can fall foul of your deadlines

31. AmeriCorps www.americorps.org • New legislation March 26, 2009 • Creation of $1,000 Fellowships for older adults • Expands service opportunities for older Americans by expanding eligibility for the Senior Companion and Foster Grandparent programs, introducing competition into the Retired Senior Volunteer Program to better position the program for expansion, and creating other opportunities for Baby Boomers and other older Americans to transition into post-career service opportunities.

32. Questions & Answers