Photograph by George Sakkestad
Cameraman Dean Chamberlain shares a joke with friends during a break in filming "The Better Part."
By Christie Welter
As director of the Cupertino Senior Center, Diane Snow has worked with many older volunteers, and she's often observed how those who volunteer to work at the center get a fringe benefit above and beyond feeling good for making a contribution: They're learning new skills.
"The majority of our desk volunteers are now trained on the computer," Snow says. Yet many of those same volunteers when first confronted with a computer complained that they had no reason to learn computer skills. "I don't want to learn that," they'd tell Snow. "What do I need with that?"
Snow says it's impossible to separate volunteer efforts from the learning of new skills. "Learning new skills is empowering," she says. "If you're learning new things, you want to keep learning." By the same token, Snow says, "When people fail at one thing, they begin to think they can't do other things. Soon, they begin to doubt themselves."
Just one example of the Cupertino Senior Center's active role in marrying volunteer power with the learning of new skills is the volunteer-produced television program The Better Part. This spring, the volunteers celebrate their 500th production.
The Better Part, a half-hour television show hosted by Dorothy Stevens since 1983, has consistently won local and national awards and covers a wide range of subjects of interest to seniors.
Stevens got her first taste of television when, as a teenager at the 1940 New York World's Fair, she was asked if she would like to appear on the very first television demonstration.
The Better Part is a labor of love for Stevens and nearly 20 other dedicated volunteers who meet twice a week to plan and produce the show under the auspices of De Anza College and TCI Cable Network. The show airs on local TCI public access channels.
The show covers a broad spectrum of subjects of interest to seniors, from people, places and events to medical breakthroughs and health, tax, legal and financial information.
The associate producer of the show is 84-year-old Roald Didriksen who got his start in television at KPIX as a transmitter supervisor when it went on the air in 1948. Later he helped develop the first videotape recorder. He oversees the technical end of The Better Part.
In Sunnyvale, 72-year-old Walter Rees turned a longtime hobby into a volunteer career and learned a few things about organizational skills along the way. Fifteen years ago, friends suggested that he should start a ham radio operator's organization. That became the Sunnyvale American Radio Emergency Service.
Over the years, the former real estate agent has recruited and trained volunteers to provide emergency backup and communication support for special events, community races, marathons and local emergencies, such as floods and power outages. SARES also provides backup to law enforcement during storms or local disasters.
Making a contribution of their time not only allows seniors to give something of themselves to the community and to develop new skills, but also helps expand their circle of friends. Rees and his volunteers regularly get together to talk over lunch.
Another organization that works for older people and also puts their volunteer skills to good use is the Fifty-Plus Fitness Association. According to the organization's executive director, Ray Stewart, "Fifty-Plus has been in the forefront of senior research and fitness activities. Our mission is to improve the physical fitness of older adults and to promote active healthy lifestyles and active living."
Carolyn Lutz should know. At 60, she works full-time as a software consultant and is a Fifty-Plus volunteer. She leads walks and runs in the Los Gatos area. A runner throughout her adult life, she loves to be outside and to be physically active.
RSVP, the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, helps people age 55 and older find service opportunities in their home communities, according to Brent Shiramizu, gerontology supervisor at the San Jose Office on Aging and the director of RSVP. "San Jose's RSVP program has over 1,300 volunteers who work at more than 90 community agencies. Last year, volunteers put in more than 280,000 hours of service.
RSVP volunteers work in organizations ranging from hospitals and youth recreation centers to local police stations and education facilities. It's RSVP volunteers who work at senior centers at this time of year helping low-income seniors to do their taxes. RSVP matches senior volunteer interests and makes use of skills and life experiences.
Seniors get into trouble when they feel that they're stagnating. One important avenue many seniors take to ensure that they continue growing is volunteerism.
Volunteer your time
Council on Aging--2115 The Alameda, San Jose, 95126 (408/296-8290). Needs volunteers for health insurance counseling, nursing home visits, home visiting.
Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP)--San Jose Office on Aging, 1190 S. Bascom Ave., #220, San Jose, 95128 (408/277-4790).
SCORE of Santa Clara County--Service Corps of Retired Executives, Chapter 405, 280 S. First St., Room 137, San Jose, 95113 (408/288-8479 for recorded information).
Volunteer Exchange of Santa Clara County--1922 The Alameda, #211, San Jose, 95126 (408/247-1126); north county: (415/965-2426); south county: (408/683-9061).
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, January 22, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.