Volunteering v. Loneliness

“Volunteering at least two hours a week may go a long way toward helping to ease feelings of loneliness and social isolation, a study of recent widows suggests.” According to this Globe and Mail article about a Florida State University study. In this interview, Dr Gordon from the Baycrest Hospital in Toronto delightfully illustrates how volunteering fills many …

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Jack Frost Challenge

Finishing the last km’s

At the beginning of this week I signed up for the Jack Frost Challenge, accepting the goal of travelling 140 km under my own power in seven days.  A great idea.

The winter weather makes it hard to get outside regularly for exercise.  This week, the pressure to do 20 km a day, or fall behind on the challenge, got me out for a good skate, ski, or bike ride every day, taking extra detours to maximize the distance covered.

It was great motivation; maybe we need a Jack Frost Challenge more often in winter!

Lots of people on the skating trail

Grandmothers helping Grandmothers

When Stephen Lewis was the envoy to Africa on AIDS realized that the grandmothers of Africa were stepping into the empty shoes of people in the family and the communities who had died from AIDS. His foundation set up a campaign to connect Canadian grandmothers to African grandmothers.

Jean Altemeyer describes how Grands ‘n’ More in Winnipeg helps grandmothers in Africa to cope with the impact of AIDS on their families and communities.

More information; grandmotherscampaign.org

Become a part-time prof

Post secondary schools need experienced people to teach a wide variety of skills.

Debra Wutke, Program Manager for Business Management in the Continuing Education division of Red River College describes the paid and volunteer opportunities for retired people in her college:

Many retirees get satisfaction mentoring young people in their field; an ideal place to pass on your experience is at colleges and universities that hire skilled people on short-term contracts to teach continuing education students, and in some cases, full-time students as well.  Alternatively, colleges often invite experienced people to volunteer as guest lecturers once in a term.

Sticky: Elders’ advice on working in retirement

When Lyndsay Greene, author of You Could Live a Long Time, found that many experienced retirees had “worked” well past the end of their traditional careers.  They said work — not necessarily paid work — provides purpose and social networks in retirement.

They emphasized that, in the post-career phase of work, you shouldn’t expect the same level of responsibility and authority as in your career.