Donald Mitchell’s first months of retirement were fairly typical. After leaving Zenith Sales Co. in 1996, the former senior vice president of sales operations took a few trips and played golf regularly.
But during the first summer of his retirement, Mitchell, like many other retirees, began craving something more.
“You can only play so much golf,” he said.
So he decided to sign up for Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a non-profit organization that provides counseling and workshops for small business owners and entrepreneurs. In the ensuing years, Mitchell liked the work so much he now dedicates about four days to the organization and is chairman of its Chicago chapter.
Mitchell is part of a growing group of people who are not content with the stereotypical image of retirement, one spent lowering golf scores, mastering knitting, playing bridge or watching television. Instead, people like Mitchell are seeking creative ways to spend their retirement years, whether it’s working with farmers in a foreign country or chaperoning foster children on museum trips.
“Some people get really tired of the kind of work they have been doing and need time off,” said Howard Stone, the 65-year-old co-founder of a retirement alternative resource Web site, 2young2retire.com. “But having time off and leisure for 30 years is kind of a crazy choice, because we are living so much longer.”
Some, like Stone, a New Jersey resident with a 37-year career in the print media industry, may choose to switch careers or work part-time. Others see their retirement years as time to dabble in things that interest them while giving back to the community. At the same time, many organizations are realizing that retirees are a valuable resource.
Some volunteer opportunities, like the Family Learning Association’s Write Partner program, take just a few hours each month. The 10-year-old pen pal program teams up seniors with schoolchildren who lack a constant mentor in their life. Adults are asked to write a student once a month, encouraging the child to do school work and answering questions like how to avoid being bullied on a school bus, said Carl Smith, director of the Bloomington, Ind.-based association. Other times, they just share pictures or a joke.
Over the years, the program has produced some close friendships. Two years ago, a Kansas woman drove to Ft. Wayne, Ind., to meet her 6th-grade pen pal.
“Then they told the entire class about their correspondence, how they had shared pictures and jokes and cartoons and had just become good friends as a result of this project,” Smith said.
Volunteers of America also offers opportunities for people who want to work with schoolchildren. The non-profit organization’s Recreational, Educational and Cultural Horizons (REACH) program needs people to chaperone children on trips to museums, plays, the park or zoo, said Tamara Reed, communications officer for Volunteers of America of Illinois.
“Seniors offer a lot in terms of working with children just in the relationships they develop, helping the child learn some respect and adhere to not necessarily codes of conduct but life lessons that can be passed on,” Reed said. “But it’s also beneficial to the seniors that a lot of seniors may be by themselves or not as active and it fills a void they may have.”
The organization also has a study coach program in which volunteers help students in grades 3 to 9 improve their academic skills by tutoring them in anything from math to reading. The coaches undergo training so they are prepared to handle the students’ specialized needs.
Retirees who have their own idea for a project may want to approach the National Retiree Volunteer Coalition, which is affiliated with Volunteers for America. The non-profit organization helps companies, their former employees and communities establish service programs, said Jeffrey Hough, director of the program.
In Minnesota, retired Honeywell Inc. engineers and tool-and-die workers teamed together to develop assisted living devices for people with mental or physical disabilities so they can perform everyday tasks. Since 1983, they have invented everything from envelope stuffers to a weaving loom for a person with only one arm.
“It’s really a matter of working with all three entities–the retirees, the community and corporation–to determine what is the need and how are we going to meet that need,” Hough said. “It’s just exciting to watch this lifetime of talent, experience and passion unleashed through these service programs.”
Jane Mortenson, 70, decided to unleash her business experience in Ukraine. After retiring from an employment agency in 1996, the Chicago resident signed up for the Peace Corps, an agency that had piqued her interest since President John F. Kennedy launched it.
“At that time I was divorced, raising kids alone and thought, `What a neat idea,'” she said. “By the time I was retiring and I wasn’t ready to stop life, I looked into it again and thought, why not?”
While many may think the program is for people in their 20s, a growing number of volunteers are 50 or older, according to Carol Wilkerson, public affairs specialist for the Peace Corps’ Chicago regional office. As of September, 476 Peace Corps volunteers, or about 7 percent, were over 50. That’s up from 3 percent just two years ago, she said.
“A lot of people are realizing that there is no upper age limit and their skills are just as much needed overseas as someone coming out of college,” Wilkerson said. “People who retire early or even when they retire they do want a change of life. They don’t want to sit in front of a television. They want to go and do something fun and challenging, and this gives them a great opportunity to do that.”
Many Peace Corps programs seek people with business experience, she said. Volunteers can do everything from work with farmers to develop strategies to market their products to teach English as a second language.
Mortenson worked for a non-profit organization in Lviv, Ukraine, for two years, doing work such as polishing the English in grant proposals. While the experience was challenging at times–she had to climb 92 stairs to get to her apartment and worked in an office that used a plug-in radiator for heat and didn’t have running water most of the day–she recommends it to people who are curious about living abroad.
“There’s tough stuff, but you learn a lot about yourself in a situation like that,” she said.
Closer to home, Habitat for Humanity encourages people to donate their time during the week, according to Carole Hernandez Hill, special projects coordinator for the Lake County chapter. The volunteer opportunities range from hanging dry wall to doing “punch list” tasks such as fixing a closet door. Those without construction backgrounds can do anything from plan fundraisers to produce newsletters or do office work.
Raising money for Habitat for Humanity is one of the many things that Tom Woolley, a 67-year-old Antioch resident, has done since he stopped working full-time. Woolley spent 43 years at PPG Industries before retiring in 1994. After six months, he got bored and went to work for Rust-Oleum, where he was employed until January 1998.
Since then, he has spent countless hours volunteering for various organizations including SCORE, Lake Forest Hospital and Catholic Charities, while mixing in adventures like sky diving and white river rafting.
What advice does he have for people who are about to retire?
“I think they ought to look at what they think they would be happy at doing. I don’t think people that do not do anything constructive in retirement are very happy.
“I think it’s important to plan some activities,” he added. “And there are so many different jobs you can volunteer for.”
