Inspiring Opportunities is an email from Coming of Age for people 50+ who are making a difference in the world, in their communities and in their lives.

Please help us by forwarding this email to people you know.





What's New from All Over
What's New in the Region
Have We Got an Opportunity for You!
Make-A-Difference Calendar


 

What's Your Purpose?
The winners of this year's Purpose Prize have been announced. The prize is awarded to Americans over 60 who are leading a new age of social innovation. On the site, you can read 15 inspiring stories about some remarkable people who are truly making a difference.

Pictured to the right is Gloria Jackson Bacon, one of the winners. At age 67, she founded Project 18, in order to build healthy families and communities that will help children thrive emotionally, socially, physically and academically.


No Vacation Nation
Yes, that would be us. The USA has been dubbed the "no vacation nation" in a new report from the European Trade Union Institute that compares leave and vacation time among 21 countries. It turns out that we are the only economically advanced nation where workers are not legislatively guaranteed vacation time. The report found that in practice Americans take half as much time off as Europeans.


Life After Work
CNN ran a recent series on rethinking retirement, including one story on how Boomers are choosing work and another on the emotional toll of retirement. There's also a short video about Melvin Washington, who took his corporate career and volunteer experience and made the leap to being fulltime in the nonprofit world.


Retirement Guilt?
In this thought provoking article, Thomas Cangelosi, 54, who recently retired after 30 years of teaching, shares how telling people you are retired nowadays is "whispered with a mixture of shame and guilt. Colleagues, family, and friends often respond with puzzled congratulations followed by an interrogation usually reserved for high school dropouts: 'Have you found another job? Are you beginning a new career? What will you do with yourself?'"


Global Volunteerism
In her monthly hot topic, local volunteer management guru and globetrotter Susan Ellis has some interesting observations about volunteering and cultural differences around the world.


"Think Golden Girls meets Kate & Allie"
Coming of Age founding partner AARP reports on the latest hot trend for older women. "Whether widowed, divorced, or single, more and more women are finding a surprisingly practical living arrangement: house sharing."




Rainbow Flight and the Billie Jean King Pool
The Inquirer's Debbie Woodell doesn't think the growing number of retirement communities for lesbians and gays is something to celebrate: "Rainbow flight will erase the heart and soul of where we came from.... Putting us in our place — literally — marginalizes us. What happens to the gay civil-rights movement when so many of the pioneers are patted on the head, told to take a dip in the Billie Jean King pool and take some music lessons in the Leonard Bernstein lounge?"


 



Philadelphia Ranked Eighth Greenest City
It's not all bad news — like our soaring murder rate, failed fireworks and the mayor's iPhone obsession. Philadelphia recently was dubbed a "sustainability leader," ranked 8th in a study of the 50 greenest big cities in the US. Here's how we stacked up in different categories:



Observation: We're number 3 in local agriculture and 41st in solid waste diversion. Bad combination — Yuck.


Buy Fresh Buy Local Week
There will be over a dozen events in the Philadelphia region during the week of July 14 to 22, including chef competitions, farm tours, film screenings, happy hours, a farmers' market grand opening, and more. Many of these events are listed in our calendar below.


Homeless Running Club
Philadelphia now has a homeless running club, an outgrowth of the Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission. It "aims to improve fitness and teach lessons from the race of life." Members are rewarded by learning discipline, a feeling of accomplishment and incentives such as movie tickets and gift certificates.


Menzfit Opens
Another program that helps turn lives around has opened in Philadelphia. MenzFit provides suits to help marginally-employed or unemployed men find meaningful employment. To donate to the program, call 215-922-1614.


Three PA Charities Receive Millions from Civil War Vet
Yes, you read that right. Three organizations recently received three million dollars each from a Civil War Veteran who died 80 years ago. It turns out that his will stipulated the money would go to charity after his heirs died. His great grandaughter died in 2005 at 93 years old. The money was delivered last week. Talk about compound interest!


WHYY Wants World War II Stories
As part of a community engagement initiative to coincide with the broadcast of Ken Burns' epic new series, The War, Coming of Age founding partner WHYY is currently sending its Y Arts Van into neighborhoods across our region to record oral histories about World War II by veterans, those who toiled on the home front, and those who remember the stories of their parents and grandparents.



  If you know of a volunteer opportunity in the Greater Philadelphia area that you would like featured here, email details to havewegot@comingofage.org. You can find more opportunities at:





This Week's VISTA Opportunity
Have you always wanted to live in New England? Now there's an opportunity to make a difference and spend a year of service as a special events and marketing VISTA in Providence, Rhode Island. Learn More


National Conference on Volunteering
The conference will be held July 16 - 18 in Philadelphia. If you would like to volunteer, you can attend the conference for only $150.00 (or for free if you volunteer for three three-hour shifts). Contact volunteer@gpcares.com for more information.


Homeless Running Club
(See story above.) Do you have an old pair of running shoes in a closet somewhere? How about some shirts, socks or pants? Philadelphia’s first running club for homeless men and women needs your help! Read this inspiring letter from Anne Mahlum, founder of The Sunday Breakfast Running Club.


HIV Advisory Board
The Center for AIDS Research at Penn needs community advisory board members to attend monthly meetings, educate the community about research opportunities and provide basic HIV info to the public. E-mail Tiffany Brown at tybrown@mail.med.upenn.edu or call (215) 746-7352.


Families in Need
Help with the daily operation of the Ronald McDonald Housea, a home for families of children being treated in nearby hospitals. Perform household tasks such as pet-sitting, cleaning or cooking. Call Linda at 215-387-8406 or e-mail LindaP@philarmh.org for more info.





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




Live Earth Concert
A 24 hour, eight city, international concert to raise awareness about global warming.

Boomer Angle: Yusuf, formerly Cat Stevens, has just joined the line-up in Hamburg. Feeling nostalgic? Here's Yusuf singing Peace Train.



Women's Triatholon
8am near Art Museum
Benefits Team Survivor Tri State, an organization that provides free exercise, health education and support programs for women affected by cancer.




Tackling the Challenge of Global Warming
6pm at the White Dog Cafe
A panel of experts will give a global perspective on the movement to reduce greenhouse gas, and specifically report on Philadelphia’s Energy Action Agenda for Buildings and Delaware’s Sustainable Energy Utility Plan. 



How Will the New Supreme Court Affect Politics in America?
5pm at the National Constitution Center
Justice Talking, the public radio program about law and American life, will be asking "How has the new conservative majority impacted the court?"

Michael Eric Dyson: Know What I Mean Author
7pm at the Free Library in Center City
Michael Eric Dyson confronts critical issues in hip hop including, gender relations, the creative expression of youth, and the political and intellectual engagement of some of the form’s most influential figures.



Lynn Hoffman: bang BANG Author
6pm at the Free Library in Center City
Lynn Hoffman reads from bang BANG, his novel about a "sweet Philadelphia waitress" who takes on the culture of gun violence right here in our town. FYI, Wal-Mart has banned the book.

Cruise the Delaware on the RiverLink Ferry
6pm at Penn's Landing
Learn about projects on both sides of the river, from the Betsy Ross Bridge to the Navy Yard. Enjoy summer breezes, food and drinks.

Rocky Run for Muscular Dystrophy
6am at the Loews Hotel Loews Philadelphia Hotel
A three mile roundtrip course that includes slogging it up the steps that Rocky Balboa made famous. The purpose of this run will be to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and to show the world that the community to find a knockout cure for Duchene is united, strong, connected to each other, and committed.

Fair Food Farm Tour
9:30am in Collegeville and Lansdale
The first event of Buy Fresh Buy Local Week. Tour local farms and have a fresh local picnic.



Buy Fresh Buy Local Kick-Off Event
2pm in Kensington Neighborhood
Local food and drink festival with a dunking tank where you can sink your favorite "local food movement" leaders.



National Conference on Volunteering
July 16, 17 and 18 in Center City
It's not too late to register. And if you would like to volunteer, you can attend the conference for only $150.00 or free if you volunteer for three three-hour shifts. Contact volunteer@gpcares.com for more information.

Preserving the Past while Building the Future
6pm at the White Dog Cafe
James and Charlotte Brown of the Parkside Historic Preservation Corporation will share their stories of rebuilding community and saving a neighborhood through the renovation of beautiful examples of historic Philadelphia architecture.

Golf Tournament for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Bucks County
10:00am to 8:00pm at Spring Mills Country Club
A day of golf to support Big Brothers Big Sisters and the 22,000 youth at-risk and in need of mentors in Bucks County.



Buy Fresh Buy Local Happy Hour
5pm at James Restaurant in Center City
Half off all of the restaurant's local draft beers and cocktails made with farm fresh fruit! Delicacies from nearby farms, crisp local beer and a chill atmosphere.



Buy Fresh Buy Local Happy Hour
5pm at Southwark Restaurant in Center City
Farm Fraîche Hors d'Oeuvres, Local Ales and Classic Cocktails.



Best Chef in PA Competition
12noon at Reading Terminal
Eight chefs from Philadelphia kitchens will battle it out in this free event, part of Buy Local Buy Fresh Week.




Women Living in Community: From Dreaming to Doing
July 28th and 29th
A conference in North Carolina focusing on how we can live together with mutual support, offering friendship, shared resources and continued engagement with others.

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. More About VISTA

See this week's featured VISTA opportunity under "Have We Got an Opportunity For You."




Of Interest on WHYY
Coming of Age founding partner WHYY has some programs coming up that may interest you:

The Chances of the World Changing
Tue, July 17 at 10pm
This film documents two years in the life of a 50 year old man who finds himself struggling to save hundreds of lives, including his own.

Summer of Love
Thu, July 19 at 9pm
This new film recalls the summer of 1967 when thousands of young people from across the country flocked to San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district to join in the hippie experience.

more WHYY programs