Although encore service is a new idea, there are several promising local, state and national models that are pioneering AmeriCorps as an encore career pathway and demonstrating high impact results in the process.
Effective national programs include Experience Corps, which helps elementary school students in high-need schools learn to read, and Legacy Corps, which provides respite care to help primary caregivers of older adults. Both work with local partners in cities throughout the country to implement programs.
Local program models include Generations Incorporated, a Boston-based nonprofit that brings together older adults and youth to meet the critical educational needs of children in Massachusetts, and ReServe’s READY, a New York City-based program to help public school students go to college. Both programs recruit and train older adults to support children and youth in exchange for a stipend.
Several states are also leading new efforts to engage encore talent in national service. In Florida, Volunteer Florida, the Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service, is enlisting the growing number of retirees to address pressing community needs. In Oregon, Oregon Volunteers, the Oregon Commission for Voluntary Action and Service, developed a statewide plan to mobilize more Oregonians ages 55+ in paid and unpaid service to strengthen Oregon communities. Volunteer Florida and Oregon Volunteers are both part of the national network of state service commissions that administer state AmeriCorps funds and provide state leadership around national and community service.