Welcome!

Inspiring Opportunities is a new weekly email from Coming of Age for people 50+ who want to make a difference in the world, in their communities and in their own lives.

Inspiring Opportunities includes “Have We Got a Volunteer Opportunity for You!,” news and events, Coming of Age program announcements (including about our Boomervision!^® lecture series) and much more!

Please encourage people you know to subscribe to this free service.



What’s New
Have We Got a Volunteer Opportunity for You!
Inspiring Stories
You Should Know About This!
This Week
Upcoming
Coming of Age Announcements


 
Rebels with a Cause and “Selfish” Boomers?
Is helping those in need a generational trend? According to this article in Business Week, today’s college students are rebelling against their Boomer parents, who resisted “any sense of civic connection,” and finding inspiration from their grandparents’ “civic-minded” generation.

What do you think? Are Boomers less civic-minded than their predecessors? Is civic engagement generational? Send us your thoughts and we may publish and link to them here.

Did You Know? Helping Others is Good for You
Read how civic engagement leads to healthy aging in this article from the Journal on Active Aging (pdf).

Movies for the Mature
Coming of Age partner AARP recently announced the winners of the Movies for Grownups Awards. Donald Sutherland won for best 50+ actor for his role as a prisoner of Parkinson’s disease in Aurora Borealis; Helen Mirren for best 50+ actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Queen. The Last King of Scotland picked up best movie. Read more or watch a video about the awards that includes movie clips.


 
If you know of a volunteer opportunity that you would like featured here, email details to havewegot@comingofage.org. You can find one-time volunteer opportunities below under “This Week.”

Inspire Others
Inspiring Opportunities is looking for people to suggest events, news items and opportunities aimed at people 50+ who want to make a difference. Please email us if you would like to get involved.

Get Out the Vote
The "Older Women Voters Count" initiative needs you! SOWN (The Supportive Older Women's Network) seeks volunteers to help identify and assist older women who need help voting. Training is provided. Call (215) 477-6000 for more information.

Get Your Sea Legs
The schooner AJ Meerwald needs volunteers who would like to learn about and work on the official Tall Ship of New Jersey. Perform shipboard tasks, on shore educational programs, ship maintenance and help with special events. Bayshore Discovery Project membership (which starts at $20) is required to become a volunteer. Contact Jan Capaldi at (856) 785-2060 ext. 108 for more information.

Detail oriented?
The American Lung Association (ALA) needs someone to complete such activities as data entry, list management and occasional phone calls, helping the nation's oldest voluntary health agency. The ALA needs someone who can make a six month commitment, working a total of eight hours a week with a flexible schedule. Contact Sherri Fiorentino at sfiorentino@lunginfo.org or call (610) 941-9595 ext. 100.


 

Putting the Glee in Glee Club
Read about Selma Savitz, a recent winner of the Volunteer of the Year award from RSVP Montgomery County. Selma has been giving people a lot to sing about.


Supporting Democracy
Check out this week’s Chestnut Hill Local story about Bill Siemering, a Wyndmoor resident who is bringing independent radio stations to young democracies in some of the world’s poorest countries.


 
Meet Up with MeetUp.com
MeetUp.com is a free web site that creates a way for groups of people with similar interests to find one another and meet up, in person, to share their interests. This site creates a lot of potential for building community and creating social change. Check out this list of groups in Greater Philadelphia. There are even some Baby Boomers interested in forming a group!

If you don’t find the group you’re looking for, you can start your own. And if you do start a group, tell us about it and we may be able to help you find members by announcing it here.


 
We list events and opportunities here that we think will be of interest to people 50+ who want to make a difference. If you know of any such events, please send us details. If you attended an event you learned about here, please send us a review.


“Green” Fish?
Slow Food Philadelphia and the White Dog Café bring you a three-course meal of sustainable food from the ocean, with information about how to make informed choices when buying or ordering fish/seafood. The event also includes a presentation about sustainable fisheries.
Tue, February 20, 6pm ($50)


Meet a Manly Man at Bryn Mawr
Harvard’s “most outspoken conservative,” Harvey C. Mansfield, discusses the role of manliness in a “gender neutral” society at – of all places – the all-female and outspokenly not-conservative Bryn Mawr College.
Tue, February 20, 7:30pm


Talk with New Immigrants and Refugees
Project Welcome is looking for volunteers to speak English with newly arrived immigrants and refugees.
Wed, February 21, 7:00pm


Talking Trash: Recycling in Philly
Attend a public hearing about the current state of recycling in the city.
Thu, February 22, 1:00pm


Casual Eco-Friendly Dinner
Sierra Club Bucks County Meet-Up says, “Come enjoy a casual dinner with other eco-friendly people to kick around some ideas for making the world a better place to live.”
Thu, February 22, 6:30pm


The Bluebirds Need You
Schuylkill Center is looking for people to help clean out nest boxes, straighten up posts undermined by winter weather, and install new boxes along the Chris McCabe Bluebird Trail. It’s all to improve the eastern bluebirds' habitat as they migrate north in order to nest in Pennsylvania meadows. Snacks and gloves provided for the volunteers.
Sat, February 24, 12:00-3:00pm


 
MetLife National Arts Forum
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Dr. Gene Cohen, one of the world’s leading experts on how creativity can enrich and expand our lives as we age. Presented by the Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, Wednesday, March 14 at 5 pm at the College of Physicians.

Boomervision!^®
Our spring ’07 series, with lectures again held at WHYY, begins March 27. Our theme: WELCOME TO THE REVOLUTION. The first session will be on “The New Sexual Revolution — Love and Sex in the Time of the Boomers.” Watch this space for details.


 

Find the Hearts Contest
Thank you to everyone who participated in our contest. Guesses as to the number of hearts (and heart-parts) ranged from a meager 25 to a fantastic 184. The correct number is 72. We took the correct responses, put them in a hat, and picked a winner. It was Robert Bauer of Philadelphia! Congratulations Robert and enjoy your prize (A $50 Barnes and Nobles gift certificate)!

Sponsor:



Inspiring Opportunities is proud to have VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) as our major sponsor. VISTA is looking for experienced, energetic individuals who want to make a full-time, year long commitment to fight poverty. If you’re retiring soon, already there, or want to take a year off for a year of service, VISTA may be for you. Living Allowances and other benefits are provided. Learn More