AgeVenture - US Army Corps of Engineers Volunteer Clearinghouse

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US Army Corps of Engineers Volunteer Clearinghouse Dr. David J. Demko, Gerontologist and Editor
AgeVenture News Service 07-25-03

Retirement is the best time to stop acting your age, and get back into action. No, not just busy work, or do-nothing volunteer jobs like stuffing envelopes in some cramped office. You can volunteer in the service of your country while enjoying the great outdoors in one of America's recreational parks or public service projects. Sounds great, doesn't it? And people just like you are already involved all around the country. Doing good work, meeting new people, enjoying the outdoors, earning respect, and getting a new lease on life. Join the tens of thousands of volunteers who are discovering that you can "have your cake and eat it, too." Hitting middle-age and beyond isn't the end of the line, it's a new beginning. Be all you can be ... in the USACE ... volunteer program.

Leon and Carey Ivy were looking for a place to camp for an extended stay. What they found was a place to stay and a new way to help people and the environment. The Ivy’s camp at a beautiful lake and volunteer for US Army Corps of Engineers.

Park Ranger Greg Thomas said, "They’re great! They’ve been park hosts, staffed the Visitor Center, painted, trimmed trees, and other maintenance in the recreation areas." Carey Ivy said they heard about the 800 number and called. They received an information packet with a map, application, and points of contact for the region they were interested. They selected a lake where they’d like to volunteer.

The 800 number they called was the US Army Corps of Engineers Volunteer Clearinghouse. The Volunteer Clearinghouse links interested volunteers with Corps lakes and projects across the country that need them. The Volunteer Clearinghouse can be reached by

Telephone: 1-800-865-8337,
Internet: www.lrn.usace.army.mil/volunteer
Mail: USACE Volunteers, P.O. Box 1070, Nashville, TN 37202-1070.

Park Ranger Thomas contacted the Ivy’s to let them know they had been selected for the volunteer position. When they got the call, Ivy said "We were as excited as if we were going to make $50,000. We were just thrilled."

Over 300 Corps lakes and projects nationwide participate in the Volunteer Clearinghouse to help protect the natural resources and maintain the recreation facilities. Park rangers need volunteers to serve as campground and park hosts, staff Visitor Centers, conduct programs, restore fish and wildlife habitat, maintain park trails and facilities, and more. Some volunteers like the special events, such as shoreline cleanups and National Public Lands Day. Ivy said "We like working in the Visitor Center best. I love to talk to people when they come in. They come from all over."

Some Corps lakes provide volunteers a free campsite with water, electric, and sewer hookups. The job duties, time period, and hours are agreed to between the park ranger and the volunteer. Volunteers are not paid, but receive other valuable benefits. They gain skills, work outdoors at beautiful lakes, meet new people, see new areas of the country, and achieve a proud sense of helping the environment and other people. Lakes, parks and Visitor Centers across the country need volunteers.

Ben Franklin once studied an image of the sun engraved on a chair in the room where our forefathers were debating whether to declare the birth of a new, free nation; or continue to exist as a British colony. Ben pointed to the engraved sun on the chair, and asked his colleagues if they thought that sun was rising, or setting? It was one or the other. Sunrise or sunset. Those assembled envisioned a rising sun, not a sunset. And that made all the difference. Two hundred years later, a folk singer named Bob Dylan said, "He not busy being born, is busy dying." Different choice of words, but exactly the same concept. Is your retirement a sunset, or a sunrise? You do have a choice.

Volunteers play an important role in protecting the natural resources and maintaining the recreation areas managed by the Corps of Engineers. Nationwide during 1999, 70,000 volunteers contributed over 1.2 million hours of work with an estimated value of $13.5 million. Those interested in volunteering can reach the Volunteer Clearinghouse at: 1-800-865-8337, or on the Internet at: www.lrn.usace.army.mil/volunteer
Image Credits: US Army Corps of Engineers Volunteer Clearinghouse.

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