By Kevin Lavery, KWMU
St. Louis, MO. – In advance of a White House conference this fall, Washington University in St. Louis Tuesday hosted a public forum on promoting civic involvement among older adults.
The forum was designed to elicit suggestions for public policy initiatives that give older adults incentives to volunteer in their communities.
Washington University professor Nancy Morrow-Howell says older adults are generally more civic minded than younger ones, but don't have enough opportunity to participate.
"Our society just can't afford for us to say that what you get to do with 20 or 30 years is just leisure," Morrow-Howell said. "Our society can't afford that, and older adults don't want that."
Recommendations from the forum will be included in a larger conference sponsored by the White House to be held in October.