US : Baby boomers volunteers ?

The nation’s 77 million post-World War II baby boomers can live longer, happier lives by trading leisure in their golden years for volunteer community service, according to a study released yesterday by the Harvard School of Public Health and the MetLife Foundation.

The two organizations also announced that they were launching a national campaign to encourage boomers to volunteer with service organizations when they retire — and to prepare those organizations to take advantage of new volunteers.

Jay Winsten, associate dean of the Harvard School of Public Health and director of the school’s center for health communication, said the campaign will be modeled after successful efforts to persuade Americans to adopt the « designated driver » program and adult mentoring of youths to reduce violence and drug use.

« For those baby boomers who head to the health club each week, civic engagement in retirement is the next health club in terms of maintenance of fitness, good health and longevity, » Winsten told a conference of experts convened to discuss the study’s implications.

The baby boom generation — those born between 1946 and 1964 — begins reaching the retirement age of 65 in 2011 with an average additional life expectancy of 18 more years after that.

Winsten said he hopes their retirement will expand the so-called volunteer sector in the nation’s $10 trillion-plus economy beyond almost 84 million volunteers doing almost 16 billion hours of volunteer work each year worth $239 billion.

Winsten warned that volunteer service organizations needed to revamp their appeals and in some cases change their organizations in order to enlist baby boomers, who are independent, self starters, impatient, willful and are « not likely to take kindly to invitations to stuff envelopes. » Winsten added: « Without careful planning and without the infusion of new resources, there is a real danger that we as a nation may squander the opportunity that is offered by this cadre of aging boomers that is heading our way. »

Marc Freedman, president of Civic Ventures, which works to expand volunteering by older Americans, said retirees may want to model their post-career lives after former President Carter, who left the White House in 1981.

« Here’s a guy who won the ambition game in life, absolutely, by ascending to president of the United States, » said Freedman, author of « Prime Time: How Baby Boomers Will Revolutionize Retirement and Transform America. » « But he discovered that it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be and it turned out (his presidency) was a prelude to the really important work that he felt was closest to his heart. »