Nilda Cravens has served others as a nurse throughout her career, starting

with volunteering in the Peace Corps. Later she worked for UMaine until her

recent retirement. She and colleague Susan Tardiff co-founded UMaine Nursing

International, bringing teams of nursing students to third-world countries

where they work with local doctors to supplement local health care. She also

works as a volunteer and board director with Maine Mobile Health, a federally

qualified, entirely mobile health center serving migrant workers, seafood

farm and processing workers. Cravens is aware of the keys to aging success, 

issues like maintaining good health and maintaining proper nutrition, but 

adds that being intellectually connected to the world is just as important.

“I want to continue to contribute to a larger society, working to impact

climate change and other key issues that affect every one of us.”

People have been helping others since the beginning of time. They can do it

both through serving in the helping professions (e.g., nursing and social

work) and through volunteering. For older adults, it can represent one of

the most important ways in which to stay active, engaged and connected to 

the world at the same time that it allows us to give back to those who can

benefit greatly from varying kinds of assistance. So, it represents a

productive, satisfying and altruistic use of one’s time and energy in

service to other individuals, groups, organizations and communities. And,

older adults are counted among the most inclined to volunteer of all age

groups. Maine ranks eighth among states in the percentage of residents who

volunteer - some 38.7% or 425,346 for a total of 39.2 million hours with an

estimated economic value of $947.6 million. Nationally, almost two billion

hours of volunteer service with a value of more than $45 billion is given

by adults 65 years and older.

Jack Clifford wants people to know that he’s never worked a day in his life.

As a lifelong musician, he has enjoyed every moment, every gig, every

assignment, which have been many and varied. Clifford was born in 1947, 

started playing guitar at eight years old, started playing professionally

just four years later, and has never stopped. “Music is what gets me going.

I love to play and I’m always listening, always learning something from 

everything I hear, whether professional or amateur,” preferably jazz or pop

music. Clifford maintains a positive outlook. “Things are going very well,”

he boasts. If his health has slowed him a bit, it doesn’t

hinder his attitude. 

Creativity is not lost as we age. Some modern views on creativity portray

it as a process of forming new or original ideas or constructing objects

of value. Through this lens, it’s understood people learn and build more

capacity for creativity throughout their lifespan. Building, doing, and

creating, especially by hand, is a strong Maine tradition. Older Mainers

are often the teachers and fonts of knowledge in their communities for 

their crafts, helping show others how they perform their craft and work

creatively using their knowledge pools. Expressing creativity has many 

benefits! This is especially true for those in later life. Beyond getting a 

sense of accomplishment from doing or creating, research has demonstrated

many benefits connected with participating in creative activities in groups

and alone. For people 60 years of age and older, singing in a community choir

can reduce feelings of loneliness and increase social connection by giving 

people an opportunity to meet others they may not normally see. Exploring 

creativity in improvisational theater showed improvements in mood and sense 

of belonging, decreased anxiety, and an attained feeling of achievement

and empowerment for actors with varying types of dementia. Creative writing, 

dance, and other participatory arts programs show potential for boosting

memory and self-esteem while reducing stress in the lives of older adults.

National Golden Gloves of America President Bob Russo calls himself a “freakish fan” and revels in turning others into freakish fans as well. Starting around age 8, Russo fell in love with boxing and that love has never waned.  Totally immersing himself in the sport over decades, Russo eventually established the Portland Boxing Club so that he could use his expertise to train others and serve as a mentor to young kids who need support in their lives. 

“Golden Gloves is not just boxing, it’s a youth program. They come from all over and somehow they find us. These kids are often at their most vulnerable, looking for their identity, and they gravitate toward boxing. PBC has the chance to mentor them, help them become good students and work toward ‘Making Champions and Good Citizens.’ “ A slew of championships over the years has proven their phenomenal success.

Highly satisfying jobs can become life-long ventures for which you never want to leave. When a job not only represents a source of financial compensation but also provides your life with purpose, structure, meaning, and the opportunity to be with others by providing opportunities for socialization, you may find yourself not longing, as you might have been led to believe, for the opportunity to retire. Remaining in the workforce can become surprisingly attractive when you realize it not only meets your need for financial security in the future, it also can be a source for personal fulfillment, an avenue for maintaining an active lifestyle, and a place to learn new skills. Jobs that satisfy your heart, mind, and soul make for workplaces places we want to remain a part of into the future.

Pat Wheeler loves her island home Downeast. She suggests that Maine’s 

natural beauty is what gives artists like her the inspiration to produce

good works. “Sometimes I look around and realize that nobody could make

anything more beautiful than what is there, but it makes a connection to

one’s creativity. Being in Maine is the time I have truly been able to 

follow my dream.” When her husband died, Wheeler built a new home next to

the family farmhouse on Deer Isle so she could continue to stay close to her

children. She chose to work with what’s there and make the house look like it

grew there. Ever the artist, she removed as few trees as possible, which she

calls “editing the landscape,” to make the whole property pleasing. As for

the future, Wheeler maintains that you “need to be present and live in the

moment. As I grow older, I continue to do my painting which quiets my brain

and keeps me hyper focused for, in the end, my art is how I know where I am.”

Building creativity into your life-long pursuits is likely to be very

satisfying. By their very nature, creative pursuits keep you engaged,

protect against boredom and prematurely burning out, and allow you to

maintain an active mind through continuous opportunities for self-

expression. Such opportunities can be especially satisfying and what many

may pursue in their later years. Creative jobs, in particular, allow you to

think “outside the box” and promote the discovery of innovative and unique

solutions to problems and challenges. Studies have consistently ranked the 

quality of creativity as one of the top ranking professional skills you can 

have, equal to or greater than administrative and management skills and

vision. Creative pursuits keep our culture vibrant. And, creativity can be 

built into many jobs that at first glance seem devoid of such opportunities--

all it takes is adding some color, customization or even a simple “quirk”

to your style and deliverables. Furthermore, a creative mindset ensures that 

every day will be different and, more likely than not, you will enjoy what

you are doing for the long haul.