Are you ready to make giving back your second act? That’s the question posed by AmeriCorps Seniors. While volunteering can make a huge difference in the lives of others, it offers many benefits for you too. Atalaya Sergi joins us to discuss how AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers are making a difference by redeploying their skills and experience, including through intergenerational volunteer programs.

Atalaya Sergi joins us from Charlottesville, Virginia.

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Atalaya Sergi leads AmeriCorps Seniors, the federal grant making office of AmeriCorps that is focused on promoting and engaging people aged 55 and over in outcomes-oriented service. She has more than 20 years of experience in service, community engagement, and education, working in the public and nonprofit sector to bring private and public organizations together to ensure people of all ages, as well as those living in underserved communities, thrive.

Prior to AmeriCorps, she served as vice president, strategic partnerships & programming at Jumpstart for Young Children, Inc., managing AmeriCorps and AmeriCorps Seniors programs as a federal grantee. She launched Jumpstart’s only AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program.

Sergi co-founded Los Angeles Generation to Generation, focusing on engaging older adults in volunteerism to support young children across LA County. She currently represents AmeriCorps on the federal government’s Elder Justice Coordinating Council and Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group. She has been recognized as a PBS Next Avenue Influencer in Aging, an Encore Network Champion, and was selected as a Co-Generate Encore Public Voice Fellow, using her time to write about the positive impact older adults can have in educational settings. Sergi earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Virginia and a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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For More on Atalaya Sergi

AmeriCorps Seniors

Atalaya Sergi on Next Avenue

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Wise Quotes 

On the Benefits of Volunteering

“One of the things that we have done some research on and learned about is the benefits to your health, and I’m not sure that everyone thinks about that. We did a research study where we looked over a three year period of volunteering, starting with volunteers who had never volunteered before and then following them over time. And we saw that of those that had volunteered for just one or two years, 84% of those volunteers reported improved or stable health. 88% reported decreased feelings of isolation. And we know how important that is given all of the work that our Surgeon General is doing. And 78% reported that they also felt less depressed after volunteering. And I think that getting out, getting moving, staying connected to your community and to others in your community really has a positive impact just on your health.”

On Volunteering & Lifelong Learning 

“I think another thing that volunteers may sometimes not expect is that they learn new skills. So we’re talking about adults that are volunteering, that have lots of lived experience, lots of career experience, but we always hear from volunteers that they learn new skills when they’re out volunteering from the training they receive. If they’re doing something that’s different from what they did in their career, they learn new skill sets.”

On Foster Grandparenting

“We have a foster grandparent volunteer in Mount Pleasant Michigan, and they call him Grandpa Rick. He shares his time and passion for reading with the kids, and he started a Book Club where he meets with third and fourth grade students from his assigned classrooms twice a week during recess. So the students get together, they read together, they talk about the story together, and their classroom teacher says that Grandpa Rick’s Book Club has got her students more excited about reading and that they are always looking forward to it. They want to know what the next book is. They want to know how they’re going to get to connect with Grandpa Rick. And when I heard this story, I was like, Grandpa Rick is awesome!”

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About Retirement Wisdom

I help people who are retiring, but aren’t quite done yet, discover what’s next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn’t just happen by accident. Schedule a call to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one – on your own terms.

About Your Podcast Host

Joe Casey is an executive coach who also helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a twenty-six-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Today, in addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, which thanks to his guests and loyal listeners, ranks in the top 1 % globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.2 million downloads. Business Insider has recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He’s the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy.

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