Giving Back and Volunteering

I live in Minneapolis, where there have been many cruel acts since George Floyd was murdered at the knee of a policeman. This tragic event caused a ripple effect that my city is reeling over. Violence, carjacking, and much more have taken place since that event…

By the time you are reading this article, most of your holiday preparations will be done. As we enjoy our families and friends, our gifts, our comfortable homes, and delicious feasts, we are reminded that others cannot afford these things…

Have you always felt that you’re destined to do something great? In our 60s, we can wake up and think: it’s now or never. Maybe we want to leave our mark on our community or even the world. If we’re retired, we can make up for all of the volunteering…

As a podcaster, I interview influential guests from all over the world. Many are super accomplished and work for the most prestigious media outlets and organizations. Some have massive followings. One is an Academy Award winner. Most are involved…

Photo credit: Luther Bailey/National Park Service The articles I have recently read about Betty Reid Soskin put me in mind of Mary Oliver’s poem The Summer Day with the closing lines: Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life? Soskin, throughout her life, seems to have understood […]

Community service is a great way to put to use our six decades of wisdom, and typically any locality will offer plenty of opportunities for volunteers of all ages. But if you want to really amp up your impact, consider rolling your volunteering energy…

I worked in non-profit organizations (NGO’s) for over three decades and, for the most part, enjoyed the time spent with the volunteers that came in to help. I believe that anyone who provides their time and intelligence to an NGO, without financial…

Before Great Gram got hitched at age 20, as they used to say, she was a teacher in a one-room rural Iowa schoolhouse. After marriage, she wasn’t allowed to teach. That was written in her contract. As a teacher, she called her readin’ and writin’…

Each July, we Americans dedicate time to celebrating our independence, and perhaps this year more so than others after we’ve endured various stages of isolation and lockdown amid the pandemic. The 4th is a time to revel in the notion…

“Social Connectivity” is science-language for a simple and obvious experience, that of connecting with others. We humans are, like it or not, fundamentally social creatures. Even introverts, such as myself, need to interact with others…