ShAARP Session: Observations from AARP

We are very excited to announce today that GRAMMY® Award-winning Country star Faith Hill appears in a new public service announcement that encourages Americans to volunteer their time to make America a better place.

Faith's ad, featuring AARP Create The Good is one of the iParticipate series you'll see on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC.

Got 30 seconds? Take a look at Faith's ad and let us know what you think and how you like to make a difference. As she says, "There are so many ways to serve. What will you do?"

If you're looking for ideas and inspiration to make a difference on your own time, in your community, on the things you care about, visit AARP's www.createthegood.org to get started.

Blythe Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow, Morgan Freeman and Matthew McConaughey are among the performers featured in the PSAs. iParticipate was recently launched in New York's Times Square with Create The Good volunteers. We were joined by New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and 15 mayors from around the country, numerous celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher, Tyler Perry, Tim Daly (ABC), Christine Baranski (CBS), Randy Jackson (FOX), Michelle Trachtenberg (NBC), among others, and key service groups to launch the initiative. Check out the pictures and video in Create The Good's Facebook group.

n honor of Earth Day, social networking site Boomj has put together a list of Top 10 Green Baby Boomers. The list includes lots of familiar names (Blythe Danner, George Clooney, Bono), but my personal favorite is the owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bob Nutting, who has team scouts using “fuel flex” cars. Happy Earth Day!

Check it out from the Today Show:

New report out today that takes on some of the myths about the baby boomers, the 77 million people between the ages of 50 and 65. Full report available from Focalyst, but a quick rundown of my favorite myths:

- Boomers are retiring early. No hanging in the hat for boomers, just 11 percent say they will stop working when they reach retirement.

- Technology is not something boomers fear; 82 percent are using the Internet.

- Boomers are done with the kids. In fact, 37 percent have kids under 18 at home and a third are single.

Interesting and a reminder that the boomers are big, diverse and may not exactly what you thought.

New report out today from the Institute of Medicine that says that today’s workforce will not be prepared to handle the aging population. As an explosion of baby boomers start to age, as well people living longer, there’s going to be a larger and larger need for cargivers. The report recommends increasing pay, but also reaching out and helping to educate those who may not formally work in the caregiving field. For many families, the responsibility may fall on them.

There are some good resources out there right now if you are struggling to care for a family member or loved one, start with AARP's caregiving site.

Update: 5:12 PM: Link to the IOM report.