Your time is valuable
"I thought your article in the Cape Gazette (March 20, 2015) was excellent and Robert Achley has done a great job of defining the transition from working to enjoying retirement. As for my husband and myself, who have been retired for over 10 years, some weeks we are as busy with volunteer activities as we were when we worked,” writes Karen.
Karen’s advice about volunteering first appeared in my column March 8, 2013. She wrote, “Once we retired to Lewes in 2003, we realized that there was only so much golf you could play; only so many books you could read, and lunches you could have with friends.” She and her husband James think one of the stages of retirement is to give time to helping others.
“The first wave of the boomer generation turned 65 in 2011, brimming with energy, life experience and professional knowledge to benefit volunteer organizations of every kind…” writes Beth Brindle on the website, howstuffworks.
Brindle suggests volunteering for national nonprofits, but I can give you a few local suggestions. I recently met the founder of The Lewes Farmers Market, Helaine Harris, who spoke about the sustainable agriculture movement in Delaware. Initially, Harris had to convince skeptical Lewes residents and the Lewes Historical Society to open a market in town. Ten years later she is still working with local farmers to make this partnership grow. And Helaine is not retired! She runs her own company, Daedalus Books, in Columbia, Md.
Thirty-five vendors and about 200 volunteers served 53,000 customers last year. My husband and I are beyond grateful for this weekly wonderland of fresh salad greens, artisan cheese, and local peaches. If you’re interested in spending a few hours on a Saturday beginning in May and ending in November, call us at 302-644-1436 or email historiclewesfarmersmarket@comcast.net.
The Children’s Beach House in Lewes is getting ready to open the Margaret H. Rollins Child Development Center to serve children with speech and language delays, hearing impairments, and/or mild orthopedic challenges. The pre-school will debut in September, 2015, and operate from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday.
Over the past 75 years CBH has been a refuge for children and a labor of love and hard work for many donors and volunteers. Please contact Volunteer Coordinator Joy Kelly at 302-645-9184 to find out how you can support them. Check out cbhinc.org. Of course there are a thousand other organizations that will graciously accept your time. My husband loves being a docent at the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment in Lewes where he gives tours and can tell you all about eight-foot tube worms that live in chimneys on the ocean’s floors! Join a small guided tour with your family and friends and learn more about one of the largest estuaries on the east coast. Call 302-645-4234 or visit ceoe.udel.edu to schedule a tour or learn about volunteering opportunities. Right now, poor Ray and his golfing peeps desperately need just one warm day on the greens without being blown into the sand trap. Have a Happy Easter or Passover! Write to me at lgraff1979@gmail.com.
