Older Americans Month - May 2010

Message from Assistant Secretary Kathy Greenlee

Dear Friends,

I join President Obama in celebrating Older Americans Month. For 47 years, our nation has set the month of May aside to honor older Americans and acknowledge their continued contributions to our nation. Our theme for this year is "Age Strong! Live Long!" which recognizes the diversity and vitality of today's older Americans and highlights the importance of staying healthy throughout our lives.

To salute all older Americans and send a message about the importance of staying healthy and as independent as possible, AoA (Administration on Aging) is sponsoring a festive and fun one-mile walk and low-impact tai chi session with local older Americans in Washington, D.C on May 27. Other communities across the country will be holding similar events throughout the month. We have also conducted a national "My Recipe for Strength" contest which invites Americans to share what they are doing to age strong. Winning entries will be selected in three categories: video, photography, and poetry/prose. I'd like to personally encourage everyone to take time to celebrate older Americans Month during May. We owe so much to our elders, and this is a great opportunity to thank them for what they have done for us.

I also would like to thank AoA's many partners at the federal, state and tribal level and our national network of community-based organizations who work on a daily basis to improve the health and quality of life for our nation's older population.

To read President Obama's proclamation, please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-proclamation-older-americans-month

To learn more about Older Americans Month, please visit http://www.aoa.gov/AoARoot/Press_Room/Observances/oam/oam.aspx

Janet Ribaudo

It saddens us to report the passing of Janet Ribaudo. Janet was a familiar face at RSVP, serving for many years, first as an Administrative Assistant and more recently as Program Specialist and Reading Buddies Coordinator. Janet was caring, compassionate and dedicated to providing RSVP volunteers with opportunities to share their life experiences. Janet’s service has set a high bar for all of us and she will be greatly missed.

United We Serve

Dear Friend,

As you know, the Corporation for National and Community Service has been preparing for the launch of an exciting new summer service initiative in partnership with the White House. Today, in a video message, President Obama will officially announce the initiative, United We Serve, encouraging Americans to create meaningful change in their communities by engaging in service.

United We Serve will kick off on June 22 at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service and will run through the new National Day of Service and Remembrance on September 11. All the tools for participating in this initiative can be found on the Corporation's website, Serve.gov. Please go there today, if you haven't already, to post your own volunteer projects.

In addition, we encourage you to spread the word about United We Serve by:

• Sending a message about United We Serve, including a link to the President's video, to your distribution lists
  
• Putting a link on your homepage to Serve.gov ? banners and logos are available at http://www.serve.gov/link.asp
  
• Issuing a press release about your participation in United We Serve ? a sample release is available at http://www.serve.gov/assets/documents/09_0616_sample_release.doc
  
• Sharing stories about how your volunteers are making a difference this summer at http://www.serve.gov/share.asp - we will highlight examples of exemplary service

Capacity is strained in community organizations across the country, so today we are also calling on Americans to take a leadership role in recruiting and organizing their friends, family, and neighbors to develop their own service projects that address pressing community needs in partnership with local organizations. To assist you, Serve.gov features toolkits for developing projects in education, health, energy and the environment, and community renewal.

To encourage participation in service this summer and beyond, the Serve.gov website features a volunteer matching platform called All For Good that allows people to search for volunteer opportunities based on location and interests. The site also allows users to sign in with their primary social network and includes social media tools to share volunteer opportunities with friends and see what activities they are participating in.

This will be a very exciting 81 days. But, of course, the call to service will not end on September 11. We hope that Americans who serve this summer will stay engaged in the ongoing work of strengthening our communities. America's new foundation will be built through an ethic of service and the personal commitment of individuals willing to give of themselves to create a better future.

In Service,

Nicola Goren
Acting CEO
Corporation for National and Community Service