Boom Time for Boomer Models

Yana Paskova for The New York Times Juliette Branker.

By MICHAEL WINERIP

Published: May 6, 2010 

As a customer service agent/Level 4 for the Lowe’s home improvement store in Garden City, N.Y., she operates a forklift (above), along with a narrow aisle reach machine and an order picker machine. The other day she unloaded 20 skids of mulch (“mulch is really bouncy, you have to drive slowly or it’ll fall on you”) and then did 18 skids of patio-building material. In the winter, she uses a chain saw to trim Christmas trees for customers, and come spring she offers planting advice in the garden store.

In her second job, working as a model for the Ford agency, she’s appeared on the “Today” show five times. “A dream job,” she said. “They send a car for you, feed you, you wear these beautiful clothes, you walk on for about two seconds, they take you home, and you make $800 each time.”

She’s also appeared as a savvy business investor on a TV commercial for Edward Jones (earning $10,000, plus residuals); as a worldly traveler who speaks six languages for American Express; as a warm, twinkly mom of a 7-year-old for Hallmark; as the face of Weleda skin-care products; and as a middle-aged woman getting welcome relief from rheumatoid arthritis thanks to Cimzia.

Ms. Branker would love to model full time. But being new — she was discovered two years ago while taking salsa lessons at Stepping Out Studios in Manhattan — she has held on to her $35,000-a-year Lowe’s job. Still, she counts herself lucky. “I never would imagine, starting to model at 51 years old,” she said. 

Click Continue Reading to view the full article. 

Learning for the love of it, Kansan getting her master's degree at age 98

Can an Aspirin a Day Do More Harm Than Good? Experts are re-evaluating who should swallow a daily dose

By: Emily Anthes | Source: AARP Bulletin Today | April 30, 2010

Some 43 million Americans do it every day: take a tiny aspirin to help prevent heart attacks and strokes. In fact, doctors have been routinely recommending the practice to older adults for years. But recently, experts have been questioning the aspirin-a-day regimen, concerned that this everyday miracle drug can pose serious risks, including bleeding in the brain and stomach.

The aspirin-a-day controversy erupted publicly in March when a 10-year study of nearly 30,000 adults ages 50 to 75 without known heart disease found that a daily aspirin didn’t offer any discernible protection. The group taking aspirin had cardiovascular disease at the same rate as those taking a placebo. Moreover, the study—published in the Journal of the American Medical Association—reported that taking a daily aspirin (100 mg) almost doubled the risk of dangerous internal bleeding.

And last year the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force—a panel of medical experts—issued new guidelines for patients, recommending only those at risk for heart attacks or strokes should take a daily aspirin. Risk factors include having high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes, as well as being overweight.

The panel also recommended that people over 80 not take aspirin at all because of bleeding risk.

Click Continue Reading to view the full article.

Health Care Reform Explained

Q. I hear that seniors get $250 for medicines if they fall into the doughnut hole. When do we get this, and how? When do we get rid of the gap in coverage?

A. The new law requires the federal government to send seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D drug plans a $250 check if they hit the limit for drug expenses this year and fall into the coverage gap, or “doughnut hole.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” says Vicki Gottlich, senior policy attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy in Washington. You should get a check within three months after the quarter of the year in which you entered the gap. So if you fall into the gap in July, which is in the third quarter of the year, you should get a check by the end of December. However, some seniors advocates say Medicare officials hope to send out the checks sooner rather than later.

Currently, going into the gap means paying 100 percent of the cost of your drugs out of your own pocket until your expenses reach a certain limit. But beginning next year, the doughnut hole will slowly shrink:

• You will get a 50 percent discount on brand-name and biologic prescription drugs that you buy in the gap in 2011. Starting in 2013 the federal government will gradually add to these discounts so that by 2020 you will be paying no more than 25 percent of the cost.
  
  
• Generic prescription drugs will get a 7 percent price cut starting in 2011. By 2020, the federal government will cover 75 percent of the cost of these drugs. By 2020, the gap will disappear. It’s important to know that the discounts do not affect your ability to qualify for catastrophic coverage if the actual costs of your drugs are high enough to reach that level.

Click Continue Reading to view the full article.

Education Field Offers Encore Opportunities

Julie Greene, a former marketing executive, got her certificate to teach math in less than a year.

Too many students are struggling to succeed, and too many new teachers are quitting the profession. Meanwhile, a growing number of veteran teachers are retiring or approaching retirement, taking the very experience that could help students and new teachers.

Boomers – with the skills, life experience and desire to help – can bring critical, readily available support to schools in need of targeted expertise. In How Boomers Can Contribute to Student Success: Emerging Encore Career Opportunities in K-12 Education, the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future details how new approaches to school staffing could improve teacher retention, reduce turnover and increase student achievement.

The organization’s research, sponsored by MetLife Foundation and Civic Ventures, identifies emerging jobs that will create learning teams in schools and offer promising opportunities to encore workers: adjunct teachers, teacher coaches or mentors, content advisers, project coordinators, tutors and an assortment of other skilled jobs, from grant writers to community liaisons.

Read the fact sheet.
Read the full report.
Learn about finding an encore career in teaching.

Source: http://www.encore.org/news/education-field-offers-e

Coming of Age: Kansas City is looking for the TOP 10 INSPIRING STORIES and ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THOSE 50+!

Coming of Age: Kansas City wants to hear the many stories about inspiring accomplishments. We are looking for the TOP 10 stories from Metro Kansas City of a fulfilling encore career, a spectacular volunteer achievement, or an entrepreneurial adventure!

Whether it is about your neighbor, brother, sister, spouse, friend, OR yourself, we want to know. It can be a passion for volunteering, a great adventure, or encore career since turning 50+. These stories can inspire others when we share WHAT was achieved, HOW it was done and WHAT was learned along the way.

We also know that your story could make all the difference to someone who is looking for WHAT'S NEXT and wondering how to move forward.

Please send your inspiring story to Stacy Woodward, Marketing/Development Assistant at Stacy@sccentral.org along with your name, email address, and phone number so we may contact you. We'd like to have everything submitted by July 1st. YOU or someone you know could be in the TOP 10 and featured on the Coming of Age: Kansas City website and Inspiring Opportunities, the Coming of Age: Kansas City e-newsletter.

Thank you for sharing!

Challenger Buddy

Team up with the YMCA Challenger Program! Volunteer as a buddy to an athlete with special needs (such as Autism, Asperger’s, Cerebral Palsy or Down Syndrome) during an upcoming program, such as baseball or bowling!

Is a one-time special event more your speed? We’ve got lots of upcoming events for the Challenger Young Adults Program, such as T-Bones baseball or Day at the Zoo!

Contact Molly Turner at MollyTurner@kansascityymca.org to become involved!

Reach out and read as a group

Small and large groups/families are needed to share books and literacy games and activities with at-risk children in pre-school classrooms in KC, MO.

Volunteers help during weekday morning hours after a brief reader training. Groups can opt to help one time or several times/year.

Great team-building activity that helps to spark a love of books and reading in young children that have a rough start in life.

Skills

• Enthusiasm for books & kids: If you enjoy books and reading aloud to children you'll have a ton of fun
• Patience and good people skills: Calm, friendly folks will enjoy this high energy audience

Requirements

Minimum group size - 4; Maximum - 40

Weekday morning availability

Interest in sharing books & helping children

Click here to become involved!

Event Coordinator

Are you ready to join a team that’s innovative, motivated and fun? As part of our continued growth, Silpada Designs is seeking talented professionals to join our team.  Our  fast-paced Marketing Department offers the skilled professional an opportunity to work in a creative environment. At Silpada, we strive for excellence in the workplace. Our corporate work environment is casual but focused. www.silpada.com

The Events Coordinator is responsible for all aspects of Silpada's events.  This will include (but not be limited to) site inspections, planning, coordinating, and execution of all events (both domestic and international).  The event coordinator will also be responsible for managing all expenses and preparing final budgets for events.

Click Continue Reading to learn more about this opportunity!

Continue Reading

Is event planning your passion?

If event planning is your passion, consider helping to plan some small fundraising events for Honduras Ministries. Our organization is based out of Olathe, Kansas and supports our sister organization Asociacion Pan de Vida in Honduras. We are looking to raise funds to support our food, school supplies, medical, and micro-loan programs.

Skills:

• Organization
• Event planning:
  • Experience in planning small events such as:
    • Contacting possible vendors
    • Coordinating catering
    • Sending invitations
    • Requesting donations.

If this sounds like something you are interested in, we would love to talk to you! Click here to become involved!

Dakim Brain Fitness Games

Dakim Brain Fitness, the #1 brand of brain fitness among America's senior living providers, helps seniors use rigorous cognitive exercise to prevent or slow the development of dementia.

Playing Dakim's highly stimulating and enjoyable brain games is simple, easy and intuitive for seniors on Dakim's touch screen computer, even if they've never used a computer before. The fight against dementia and Alzheimer's disease starts with Dakim Brain Fitness. Volunteers are needed to help Village Shalom residents play the Dakim Brain Games.

Help one resident once, twice or three times a week or stay for an hour and help a few residents. Each session will last up to 20 minutes. Click here to become involved in this opportunity.