A President Calls

Once again, a president has called upon our nation to give back to this country.
President John F. Kennedy did so during his inauguration speech in 1961 when he implored us to “ask not what your country can do for you… ask what you can do for your country.”
Now, President Barack Obama has done the same. First, it was the “day of service” the new president organized the day before his inauguration in January. This month, he sent to Congress the Serve America and GIVE Acts, a bill that has passed the House and seems certain to be approved by the Senate.
Neither president has called upon the Baby Boomer generation in particular, but our generation has without question been a major focus of both efforts.
President Kennedy formed the Council on Physical Fitness to encourage the youth of America to get in better shape. He also formed the Peace Corps, an organization for all ages but one that was focused at the time on people entering adulthood.
President Obama is calling on all generations to pitch in during our country’s tough economic times and during his efforts to turn the nation around. However, he certainly is looking to the Baby Boomers to be a major part of his renewal plan.
The Serve America and GIVE Acts would establish an army of 250,000 volunteers. In the March 30 edition of Time magazine, the president wrote a column detailing the legislation’s goals. He said they would range from modernizing schools to building affordable housing.
Our nation has done well over the decades at volunteerism. Last year, 62 million Americans gave 8 billion hours of service. Baby Boomers have long led the charge. As a generation, we volunteer more than any other age group and we volunteer more than our parents did at our age. Volunteerism seems to have been instilled during our youthful heydays of the 1960s.
Now that we are nearing our retirement years, it seems like a good time to kick the effort into a higher gear. Many Baby Boomers have raised their children and are winding down their careers. This gives us more free time to devote to volunteerism. This fact has not been lost on non-profit organizations. Many have begun campaigns to recruit volunteers over the age of 50. The Peace Corps is among these groups.
President Obama is also calling on us. Baby Boomers will certainly make up a large portion of his Serve America troops. We should heed his call, just like we did when President Kennedy issued his plea.
There are 78 million Baby Boomers, the largest generation in the United States. With our numbers and our volunteer spirit, we can make a big difference.
Education is the arena we can probably have the biggest impact. In my book, “10,000 Days,” I call for a “10 percent solution” in this field. If 10 percent of our generation volunteered in our nation’s schools, that would produce almost 8 million extra hands to help teachers in the classrooms. Could there be a better use of our time?
I urge all Boomers to seek out a cause they believe in, whether it be the environment, health care, education or military families. Commit yourself and donate your services.
The time is ripe. We once again have a president asking us to serve. Baby Boomers can make good use of their later years. Let’s ask what we can do for our country.