Impact of Boomer-Oriented ASSETS Service Learning Projects

The focus of GateWay Community College’s ASSETS project was to develop service-learning opportunities for boomer students, and to explore the potential of service-learning experiences for boomer students. GateWay service-learning faculty had noted that our dedicated community partners from local neighborhoods and nonprofit organizations were of boomer age. It seemed that younger people were busy with their work and families, but those who had reached boomer age had grown children, and thus more time to volunteer in their community. Additionally, we noticed that boomers had more experience and skills, as well as a deeper understanding of community issues that motivated their participation in community life. We wondered whether it would be possible to help capture the energy and vision of boomers from the private and public sectors who were close to retirement age by getting them interested in volunteering in their communities. To engage the boomer populations both in our classrooms and in the surrounding community, our ASSETS project created Geographic Information System (GIS) maps, developed an active partnership between our service-learning programs and our GateWay Career Transition Center, and developed new ideas for engaging local area residents in partnership with higher education. [author]