Boomers want to retire yet stay involved..

Many retirees, especially us baby boomers, want to retire from their careers yet become involved in other areas such as social and health services.

Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, are starting to retire, and they want to make remarkable contributions to society.

Sure, people retire to play golf, but they soon find that golf isn’t enough.

We need to embrace the energy, expertise and wisdom of retirees and encourage their involvement.

To optimize this opportunity, some false impressions must be cast aside and hurdles cleared.

Unpaid volunteers are often not as respected or as valued as paid personnel, a trend that has to be changed. Also unpaid positions are often not as challenging.

To fully engage volunteers, we must have community commitment of time, as well as money, for nonprofits to develop needed systems and infrastructures.

To make the volunteer experience win-win for both the organization and the individual. Volunteers should be given orientation and training, job descriptions and supervision. The expectations must be clear for all involved.

We suggest shifting the view of retirement from “the freedom FROM work” to the “the freedom TO work.”

As more baby boomers jump off the corporate ladder, we hope they can work in ways that are personally rewarding and ways that benefit society. We need to welcome and engage these new members of the so-called “work force.”

Because, after all, sometimes golf just isn’t enough.

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