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National Campaign To Engage Older Americans In Community Service Features Philadelphia Heroes

Wilbert Dawson, a retired telephone line repairman, is "still answering the call."

It's the Experience Corps call to service, and hundreds of Philadelphia retirees have responded. One, Wilbert Dawson, is featured in a new national campaign developed by Experience Corps to encourage many more Americans 55-plus to devote their time, talent, and experience to their neighborhood public schools.

Pictures of Dawson and other Experience Corps members across the country -- now being used as fliers, posters, and advertisements -- include the volunteers' name, past profession, a headline describing the contribution the volunteer is "still" making, and text encouraging others to follow suit. "Experience is the best teacher," the poster proclaim, and "you have a lifetime's worth. Don't let it go to waste. Share it."

Experience Corps, a groundbreaking program that engages Americans 55-plus in vital public and community service, developed the 12-city campaign with funding from the Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The creative work was done by Margaret Mark, president of Margaret Mark Strategic Insight and co-author of The Hero and the Outlaw: Building Extraordinary Brands Through the Power of Archetypes, and Marvin Waldman, president and founder of The Shadow Group. Both have served as executive vice presidents at the advertising agency Young & Rubicam.

“We hope that this national recruitment campaign sends the message loud and clear that older Americans have the gifts of time and experience that our communities, specifically children, need,” says John Gomperts, chief executive officer of the Experience Corps. “We work to make it easy for these two groups to get together. When they do, it’s a powerful force in the lives of both the children and the adults.”

In Philadelphia, Experience Corps is hosted by the Center for Intergenerational Learning at Temple University and founded on the principle that the experience and talent of older adults are invaluable to youth. In partnership with AARP and AmeriCorps, Philadelphia Experience Corps offers adults over the age of 55 the opportunity to develop caring relationships with children through tutoring and mentoring during the school day.

Experience Corps participants serve at 16 Philadelphia elementary schools: Arthur, Bryant, Childs, Cook-Wissahickon, Howe, Moffet, Morrison, Olney, Pennypacker, Prince Hall, Raising Horizons Quest, Rowen, Stanton, Waring, Washington, and WPACS. They tutor students one-on-one with a focus on helping them learn to read. Additionally, Experience Corps participants often support youth in enrichment activities, playing games, reading books, or developing and offering programs based on their own unique backgrounds and experiences.

“Experience Corps participants are making tremendous contributions to the schools where they serve and to the children they meet,” says Rob Tietze, project director of the Experience Corps in Philadelphia. “Last year, 175 volunteers devoted nearly 58,000 hours to serve 766 students in Philadelphia. We plan to increase those numbers this year.”

NOTE: Experience Corps service at a Philadelphia elementary school is cited as a "social-capital success story" and national model of innovation in a new book by Harvard professor Robert Putnam, author of Bowling Alone.