To help you stay better connected to our friends, ReServe is now on Facebook and LinkedIn.  If you are a member of Facebook or LinkedIn, please join the ReServe groups, by searching “ReServe Inc” and then request membership.  By joining the ReServe group, you will have access to information about ReServe, and will be alerted to ReServe events, workshops and special opportunities.

If you are not a member of Facebook or LinkedIn but are interested in a tutorial, please email Jesse Dean at ReServe at jdean@reserveinc.org or call at 212-792-6250.

Institute of Retired Professionals (photo courtesy of IRP web site)

Want to expand your horizons beyond life lessons and a life-long profession? You may want to check out the New School and its Institute for Retired Professionals. It isn’t new. Far from it. But it was the first of its kind in the United States when it was founded in 1962 at the behest of some retired school teachers who wanted to explore new interests. Through the years, it has helped to highlight the capabilities of older people.

In the beginning, the New School provided space to meet but asked the class to make and manage its curriculum. That tradition of peer learning continues today. All study groups are non-credit, but enrollees are encouraged to keep up with reading assignments and contribute to class discussions.

For Fall 2009, some 36 classes are offered, each based on a minimum enrollment of 12.  They range from Ways of Reading Kafka to The Post-World War II Novel; from Great Ideas in Physics to a Figure Drawing Workshop. Each student must enroll for two 90-minute study groups.

For more information: http://www.newschool.edu/irp/

April 2009

Friends,

President Obama’s historic victories in the primaries and general election were due in no small part to his unprecedented use of the latest internet technology, including email, text messaging, online billing and social media websites like Facebook.   The campaign relied on these relatively inexpensive tools to communicate, sell, solicit and receive money, names and policy initiatives.  The campaign then used these “commodities” to create, identify, cultivate  and restructure communities of supporters, whose “membership” was based on an endless and ever changing set of variables, e.g. geography, age, ethnicity, social and economic status, attitudes and interests broad and narrow, and responses to the candidates policies and pronouncements.

No question, Obama’s intelligence, community organizing experience, charm and incredible discipline explain why he succeeded, (in addition to the economic implosion!)  But internet technology explains the how; how he cultivated voters and built his public profile before he had a big war chest, and how he was able to continue campaigning until the funds arrived.

Retired professionals are the why ofour success at ReServe. ReServists are smart, accomplished, experienced and disciplined.  They are able to dive into their assignments with little training or supervision and in several cases have contributed significantly to programs, operations and marketing at the organizations in which they are placed.

But having proficiency if not mastery of computer and internet technology is also needed for a ReServists’ success.   Without technical skills, the very best professional experience can be irrelevant in today’s workplace.

At ReServe, we have made it a policy that all applicants be computer literate (if not eloquent) and have an active email account.  In 2008 we launched the Opportunity Board, an internet-based job search tool that lists all of our opportunities in detail. Without IT skills, ReServists cannot search or apply for opportunities with our partner organizations, and without an email account ReServists cannot receive our frequent email blasts.

Indeed, the internet continues to challenge previously conceived methods of communication, dialogue and debate, publishing, shopping and fundraising to name a few.  The nature of technology which is changing every day requires that all of us enhance or relearn skills.
Resistance to technology is not an intellectual deficiency.  Rather it may stem from your experience with business norms established long before the internet, including how information is gathered and shared, how business decisions are made and how employees are recruited and retained, says Rob Salkowitz in his book, Generation Blend: Managing Across the Technology Age Gap.

“The cause of older workers’ rejection or slow adoption of technology and technology-related practices often has more to do with sociological issues and workstyles than with the willingness or ability to learn later in life,” he writes.

There are free or low cost computer courses being given in almost every neighborhood, at park recreation centers and public libraries (for a list of some centers in your area, click here).  In this newsletter, we introduce you to Tom Kamber, the Executive Director of OATS (Older Adult Technology Services).  ReServists can register for free computer courses given by OATS, so please take advantage of this opportunity if you think you need it.

In the coming months, ReServe will be upgrading its internet technology so that we can match the growing numbers of retired professionals and nonprofit organizations more quickly and less expensively.  In our outreach and promotional efforts, we need to take advantage of how and why technology can help us meet the demand for the topnotch skills our ReServists offer.  Please stay tuned for our developments.

Happy internet browsing!

Mary S. Bleiberg

ReServist Jo Sevely, one of 18 ReServists participating in StoryCorps.

Story Corps  has invited 18 ReServists to  visit their recording booth in lower Manhattan and describe their lives after retirement .  The recordings will be stored digitally by Story Corps and archived in the Library of Congress.  Excerpts of individual recordings may be featured on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

Story Corps is a nonprofit organization, which honors Americans by recording stories of their lives.  An individual, young or old is invited to engage in a conversation with a loved one, friend or colleague, which is recorded and stored.  Jack Rosenthal, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at ReServe, who also serves on the Board at Story Corps, collaborated with Donna Galeno, Director of Story Corps for the idea of ReServist participation

In a pre-recording orientation held at the AARP offices in New York, ReServists met with facilitators from Story Corps to review the procedures related to the recordings and to introduce themselves. ReServists also talked about their often extraordinary and diverse professional accomplishments as well as their current passions.

ReServist Natalie Millner said that adjusting to retirement wasn’t easy for her, “I knew that I could never stop doing things,” she said.  Ms. Millner spent years working for city agencies including 16 years as the Deputy Press Secretary at the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, but became a Health Navigator for ReServe after retiring.   ”I love what I’m doing now.  It is the most wonderful fulfilling affiliation I’ve ever had,” she said of her work with ReServe as a Health Navigator.

ReServist Lila Sternglass who is currently working in marketing and advertising for the nonprofit, New York Youth at Risk, said that entering the male-dominated advertising world in the 1950s was not an easy task but she persevered  and built a successful careers an advertising executive.

However in her current role as a ReServist she has found her creative voice: organization.  “They give me freedom, the freedom to do things the way I thought they should be done,” she said.

Finding one’s voice is one of many benefits of being a ReServist, but ReServe helps marriages too.  ReServists Stan Kohlenberg who founded several successful companies in New York and now is working at Baruch College, said that ReServe helped save his marriage of 54 years.  “I retired in 2007 and found myself at home with my wife [all day].  I want to thank everyone at ReServe for pulling me off my couch.”

Both ReServe and Story Corps are eager for the collaboration. “Older people usually talk about their pasts, what they did before they retired,” said David Brigham, who is a manager at the Story Corps booth.  ”We want to hear more about how people are living their lives in the here and now.”

Iowaka Barber, a ReServe Program Officer agrees and points out,  “ReServists represent the leading edge of a trend:  retired people who are applying their skills and life experience to jobs in the nonprofit sector. Focused and mission driven, they are actively engaged in helping their communities. ”

Older Americans constitute a vast untapped pool of talent and experience .  Stories that  document the richness of ReServists’ daily  lives, the variety  of work assignments and their social impact,  will help change public misconceptions about retirees capacities and motivations.

That’s not just a story, that’s news.

In his Inaugural Address, President Obama beckoned individuals to a call to national action. In late March, the Congress advanced this summons by enacting the Serve America Act of 2009, which was also renamed the “Senator Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act,” to commemorate the Senator’s dedication to national service.  Although the Act awaits President Obama’s signature, he has signaled his support.

Enactment of this sweeping legislation may hold opportunities for service organizations who already participate in programs such as AmeriCorps and VISTA, or which have considered launching such programs.

The Serve America Act covers a range of priorities ranging from service-learning programs for youth to support for older Americans. Programs established by the Act include energy conservation, emergency preparedness, expanding access to technology and mentoring. The AmeriCorps program has been organized around five focused corps covering education, energy conservation, healthy futures, veterans and an Opportunity Corps to improve literacy, build housing, increase job training and other services to economically disadvantaged individuals.

Eligibility for AmeriCorps and other national service programs has been reduced to 55 years of age and permits participants to collect stipends in addition to education credits. Education credits earned by older participants may be transferred to related children and grandchildren.

The law also creates the National Senior Service Corps, which includes Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, the Foster Grandparent Program and the Senior Companion Program. Increases in funding have been authorized to support these programs.

Final funding levels will be determined by appropriations approved later in the year by Congress, and regulations will be determined by respective Federal and state agencies.

For more information on national service programs, contact: The Corporation for National and Community Service at www.nationalservice.org.

In its latest survey of partner organizations, ReServe found organizations overwhelmingly satisfied with ReServists and that the services delivered by them helped to satisfy critical needs in their agencies.

According to 200 supervisors, over 98% said the contributions made by ReServists placed with them were good or excellent. The survey of ReServe partners was conducted in December 2008, and the overwhelming majority said that Reservists performed important functions at their organizations. 89% said that ReServists enhanced the mission of their organizations, while over two-thirds said their professionalism and expertise were “important contributions to their organizations.”

“ReServists served critical roles at times when we could not have afforded other staff, let alone people with the experience and expertise they brought to our organization,” one respondent commented. “We would have been crippled without them.”

ReServe has assisted over 300 nonprofit organizations, 27 government offices and 23 CUNY schools improve the services they provide to the public, with Reservists often taking on tasks that had been neglected or performed with limited capacity. At the cost of just $15 per hour, survey respondents said the work performed was “worth more to our organization,” than what was paid. Proving the success, 100% said they would recommend ReServe to other organizations.

ReServists handle a wide variety of tasks. In the survey, 45% of Reservists worked in professional management, 30% in administration, 25% in client services, and 20% as professional consultants. As one respondent described, “The entire relationship with ReServe has been an enriching experience for our organization. Thank you!”

Marilyn Shaw left the Brooklyn DA’s office at the end of March, but she didn’t go quietly. She ended her ReServist tenure with a party at Brooklyn’s historic Borough Hall for 31 Extraordinary Women of Brooklyn-one honoree for each day of Women’s History Month.

As event coordinator she fulfilled the project dear to DA Joe Hynes, now in its third year. Hynes noted that the honorees’  “generosity and unwavering dedication to the well-being of others exemplify the best that Brooklyn has to offer and have made our beloved borough a much better place to live.”

Among the 31 are attorneys, immigrants, religious leaders, a police officer, political activists and those who help small businesses, troubled families, children and the homeless.

Two honorees have connections to ReServe. Linda Blyer counts ReServe among her many volunteer efforts but was honored for the more that 20 years she served as Executive Director of Families First. The independent, nonprofit organization offers support groups, classes for children, workshops for parents and caregivers and a drop-in play space. Benita Miller, a ReServe sponsor, was honored for her work with pregnant and parenting teen-agers as founder and executive director of Brooklyn Young Mothers’ Collective.

Meanwhile, Marilyn Shaw plans to take time off to visit her son and then find her way back to ReServe for another assignment.

The Horticultural Society (HSNY) was founded in 1900 and has developed into a multi-service organization, with diverse programs bringing the vitality of urban horticulture to kids, adults and families throughout our city.  HSNY creates community gardens, urban farms and street trees all around New York, and provides mentoring and training in professional landscaping to at-risk youth, and to men and women who are in jail on Rikers Island or who have recently been released, providing them with the opportunity to build work skills, rejoin society and start a positive new life.  The organization gives city kids the chance to get their hands dirty in a garden and learn about science and botany through our education programs.  Among many resources are a library and a trained horticulturist, both of which are available for free to anyone, professional landscapers and novice gardeners alike.  The HSNY Exhibition program showcases bold contemporary art that explores the natural world.

To find out more about the programs or to become a member, visit the Horticultural Society of New York Web site at: www.hsny.org. Memberships benefit The Horticultural Society financially, and members come with benefits like invitations to public programs and more.

ReServe is moving.

As of Friday, October 24, our address and telephone are:

ReServe
6 E. 39th Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10016
Telephone: 212-792-6205

The best way to reach us during this transition is by e-mail. For a complete e-mail directory, please visit our web site.

We will no longer be at 150 Court Street in Brooklyn.

Thank you in advance for noting the change.

After three fruitful years as Executive Director of ReServe, Claire Haaga Altman is embarking on a new venture, but will remain committed to the mission of ReServe as a member of ReServe’s Board of Directors.

October 2008

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is a bittersweet moment to bid adieu to friends and colleagues that I have worked with at ReServe over the past three years as I move on to a new position. But it’s so long, not good bye as I know our worlds will continue to intersect. As of October 1, I have left ReServe to spearhead a development project at the HealthCare Chaplaincy – a multipurpose complex for their teaching, research and library facilities along with a residence for persons with serious illnesses and a suite of medical offices.

The month of October marks an important milestone for ReServe – we will be moving to new offices in Manhattan (6 E. 39th Street, 10th floor, 212- 6205). All of the ReServe staff will miss our colleagues at the Blue Ridge Foundation in Brooklyn where ReServe has been incubated since its infancy in 2005. BlueRidge has generously provided ReServe with both financial and logistical support as well as our all important home base, all of which has prepared ReServe for this next level of maturity. Special thanks to Matt Klein, BlueRidge’s Executive Director, who has been invaluable on so many fronts to ReServe’s growth.

Susan MacEachron, ReServe’s Deputy Director since February 2007, has been appointed by the Board as the Acting Executive Director. Most of you know and have worked with Susan who will, I know, lead ReServe ably as we implement a number of innovations designed to increase our ability to place more ReServists in meaningful positions, provide a greater level of assistance to our nonprofit and public agency partners, and advance public policy around the important asset that older adults represent in helping to solve public problems. Susan can be reached at susan.maceachron@reserveinc.org, 718-923-1400×225.

Other changes that are in progress at ReServe are a reorganization into three teams in order to be more effective in generating positions for ReServists. The first – developing positions for ReServists – is being headed by Jess Geevarghese, who has been promoted to Senior Program Officer. Scott Kariya who started as a ReServist is now working with Jess as a permanent part of this team. Anna Collins and Iowaka Barber will head up the team working to place ReServists. The third team will handle ReServe’s operations. We believe these changes will make our process more efficient which should help our Partner Organizations find the people they need and ReServists find positions they want.

I want to say in parting that I am grateful first to all the ReServists who have opened their hearts, and dedicated their minds and energy to helping a myriad of nonprofits and public agencies improve and expand their delivery of services to New Yorkers. Secondly, the response of nonprofits and public agencies – particularly the City of New York and CUNY – to our “new” idea of deploying retirees to take on projects and tasks that might otherwise not be done has been incredible. We began three years ago offering a new service – now being a ReServist is a calling for many who want to help make New York City a better place to live and work. Thanks to all of you for letting me be part of this really exciting experience. I know that you will enjoy working with Susan and all of the ReServe team as we move into our fourth year of operations.

Warmly,

Claire H.Altman