Retirement is really far away for me.  I’ve barely saved any money and right now can’t even imagine what it’s like to not work every day.  But retirement is a reality for a lot of people.  That group of people will be growing every day. This article highlights the focus by AmeriCorps to engage retirees.

Lucky for us we have a resident retiree down the hall that works for the Ignatian Volunteer Corps.  Joe Jones, the Regional Director, embraced volunteerism after years of being a Lawyer and a Trade Association Executive.  In 1998 Joe retired, and found himself as a IVC volunteer in 2005.  He spent three years volunteering at DC Central Kitchen, working two  days a week: in the morning as a prep cook and in the afternoons teaching interpersonal and interview skills.

When IVC decided to split the DC area into two regions they asked Joe if he would join them as a Regional Director.  “I thought they were nuts,” Joe told me.  But he accepted the job and began his “encore career.”

If you ask Joe why he does it, he responds:

It’s life confirming.  It’s important to everyone that’s involved.  The materially poor, the marginalized, the volunteers and the agencies.  It’s challenging work because we just get by on a shoe string.  But it’s truly rewarding.

Joe’s job is to find fulfilling volunteer placements for retirees around DC—he’s even placed a Physics Doctorate at the Washington Jesuit Academy as a TA in a math class!  Retirees bring life experience and very specialized skills to new environments to help give back.  Maybe it’s time you engaged a retiree at your Campus Kitchen.

This stuff isn’t for everyone.  The commitment is significant.  But when it’s right, it makes your eyes water.  -Joe Jones

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