The New York City Department for the Aging (DFTA) will be giving retirees the opportunity to make good use of their spare time by enlisting them to use their expertise at various city agencies.
The ReServe program is being done with ReServe Elder Services. Participating retirees, which the program will call “ReServists,” will be paired with city agencies where they would be able to put their skills to use.
“New York City attracts the best and brightest workers in the world and we want to ensure that when they retire they have the opportunity to make this city even greater with their years of knowledge and expertise,” said Deputy Major Linda Gibbs. “The Department of the Aging is helping to create a model for civic engagement for aging services across the country.”
In order to participate in the program, which is planning on placing more than 100 ReServists, retirees must be older than 55. After applying for the program, ReServists will be interviewed and matched up with an agency, and will work for 10 to 15 hours a week. Among the backgrounds that have been put to use are law, accounting, human resourses, journalism, marketing, social work, health care and education.
Participants will be paid a small stipend.
It is estimated that, over the course of the next 25 years, the elderly population in New York will increase by 50 percent.
“As more Boomers retire from their professional lives, we want to meet their need for post-retirement opportunities to ‘give back' to their communities,” said DFTA Commissioner Edwin Mndez-Santiago. “Retired professionals are an invaluable but under-used asset and ReServe is poised to connect these professionals with opportunities in the city government, to the benefit of all.”
In order to find out more about the ReServe program or to apply, visit www.nyc.gov/aging or www.reserveinc.org.
City wants seniors to be ‘ReServists'
By Jessica Lyons
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