Senior News
May, 2001
Vol. 20. No.  5

Published by the Humboldt Senior Resource Center in Eureka, California. HSRC is a non-profit community-based organization offering services for senior citizens, multi-generational families and caregivers.

May is Older Americans Month

Dan Hauser: Government Chat ignites some electric issues

Remembering Spirit: Life on the Railroad

Senior Softball: Classics tournament team wins the silver medal at Redding games

Cat Man of Old Town

Washington School: Preservation Week honors old school buildings like ours

Pick up a copy today! Better yet, subscribe and never miss an issue!

Mays is Older Americans Month
Celebrating Senior Employment is a great way to celebrate older Americans-for 25 more years!
by Ginger Campbell

Happy Anniversary SCSEP! Ginger Campbell stands in front of a group of enrollees at the group's 25th anniversary. Photo by Barbara Clark.

Twenty-five years and more than 5,250 local older workers later, the AARP Foundation/Senior Community Service Employment Program keeps on ticking!

Finding permanent jobs for older workers is a passion for me and our older worker staff. This is quite apparent from the consistent 75 to 90 percent placement rate of our clients in permanent jobs in Humboldt and Del Norte counties-and our status as the top placement project site in California all 25 years.

When the program started in 1976, it was assigned by congressional district. I have been with the local program since the beginning. Promoted early to area supervisor for California, Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico, I set up five additional sites in one year. After three years, however, I missed the one-to-one hands-on work with clients and asked to be returned to my original job as project director of the Humboldt site. The one thing that I know for sure from that experience is that older workers have the same issues, the same desires and the same concerns in every county in every state.

I still love my work after 25 years, and every person has a story to tell. But most importantly they have wonderfully honed skills and life experiences to offer employers.

Those who have been through the program and have transitioned into permanent jobs agree. Susan Lockhart from the Humboldt County Elections Office wrote, "When someone told me about AARP Senior Employment I was hesitant and felt over-the-hill. They gave me back the confidence I had lost. I now have a full time benefited position with the county and have achieved my goal."

Hank Stover from Sherlock Mini Storage said, "I only worked for AARP Senior Employment for less than three months, and they called me to interview for my present position. I have been here for four and one-half years."

Betty Lopez (see photo p. 7) from the Youth Service Bureau Thrift Store in McKinleyville said, "They give seniors a chance to get job training and jobs that they might not get if they tried on their own."

The key to success in these two counties is the employers who recognize the value of dependable, reliable, mature and willing employees.

We get calls every day from employers who ask for exactly those qualities. We can train people in technical skills, but we can't train them to have the good attitude and customer service that employers get when they hire older workers.

An excellent example of reliability and durability is Muriel Hayes, office assistant for the Arcata Chamber of Commerce. Muriel got her permanent job through Senior Employment 21 years ago! She has helped train and acclimate several directors of the Arcata Chamber and has trained many Chamber volunteers.
During a valued visit recently from Sue Miler, co-administrator of the AARP Foundation in Washington DC, she reiterated the national AARP Foundation's support of the local SCSEP office.

"My visit to the AARP SCSEP program in Arcata brought home to me once again how the right help at the right time can make a world of difference to people who have had hard luck or who have stopped believing in themselves. Ginger Campbell and the office staff here bring all the pieces together: a commitment to helping people in the program best use their skills, creativity in finding good training and employment opportunities, and deep knowledge of and involvement with their community agencies and employers," Miler said.

Ginger Campbell is project director of the AARP Foundation Senior Community Service Employment Program based in Arcata. Since July 2000 she has also been writing a regular monthly column called "Working" in Senior News. Her phone number is 707-822-7027 and her e-mail is SCGCAMPBEL @aol.com.

Senior News and the Humboldt Senior Resource Center join in congratulating the AARP Foundation SCSEP for their continued success in helping older workers in Humboldt and Del Norte counties to find those most needed jobs!