ATTN: Baby Boomers

According to a recent edition of AARP Bulletin, a national media campaign is underway to encourage baby boomers across the nation to volunteer more. Boomers, the article says, "have the potential to become an immense social resource."

As a result of ads, events, and a guide to retirement transition, there has been a dramatic rise in volunteerism among the baby boom generation.

One boomer has taken this quest personally. While most people her age are thinking about retirement and taking it easy, Marsha Jordan is embarking upon a new career. When she found herself with an empty nest, Jordan invested her time and emotion into a worthwhile project. She founded a non-profit charity (The Hugs and Hope Foundation) to help critically ill children experience a little more joy and hope.

Now Jordan has written an inspirational book, which is illustrated with drawings by sick kids. Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter is available for purchase from all major book stores as well as from the foundations web site at www.hugsandhope.org/book.htm.

The book was written to encourage anyone dealing with the difficulties of life - and that's EVERY one of us!

It's not difficult to find inspirational books these days, but "Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter" stands out. Jordan, a disabled grandmother who has battled a connective tissues disease, chronic pain, and fatigue for most of her life, combines hope with humor as she shares her experiences and the lessons she's learned from them.

Pain is never easy, but it's more bearable with the healing power of laughter; and you'll laugh with this "Phyllis Diller wannabe" as she recounts with hilarious commentary her search for the perfect purse, camping adventures, her badly behaved toy poodle, and her experience with a new magnifying mirror. Essay topics include everything from husbands, preschoolers, and a day in the emergency room, to in-laws, car accidents, and living with chronic illness. Some chapter titles include, "Limburger Attitude, "The Joy of Shopping," "Is Broccoli Hazardous?" and "Life in the Manure Pile."

The book answers tough questions like "What did I do to deserve this" and outlines ten tips for fighting depression, gleaned from the author's own life-long battle with the illness.

Besides being laugh-out-loud funny, "Hugs, Hope, and Peanut Butter" (which sells for $15.95) is filled with practical tips for coping with life's hardships. It will strengthen your faith, provide a new perspective on problems, and bring hope to the hurting. The book is available through all major book stores or the Hugs and Hope Foundation web site at www.hugsandhope.org/book.htm

Jordan's inspirational essays have been published in several magazines and anthologies as well as the "Cup of Comfort" book series. Currently a regular columnist for Handmaiden Magazine, Jordan has been featured on WGN Television's Unsung Hero program and in magazines such as Rosie, Woman's Day, Ladies' Home Journal, and TV Guide.

Jordan didn't set out to create a nation-wide network of over 3,000 volunteers; but her hobby of sending cheery mail to sick kids meant so much to the families she corresponded with, that she created a web site asking others to send smiles to kids who have little to smile about. Thus, the Hugs and Hope Foundation for Sick Children was born.

Now in it's fifth year, the 501(c)3 charity has provided hundreds of balloon bouquets and birthday parties for children in hospitals as well as thousands of cards and gifts each month. The organization also grants wishes and provides a 24-hour online chat group for the parents of sick kids.

What makes this volunteer opportunity unique, says Jordan, is that, "anyone of any age or ability can participate. Grandmothers in their nineties can send notes to sick kids, and preschoolers can mail hand-made cards." For those who wish to do more, opportunities abound. There are many Hugs and Hope programs to choose from, including the Parent Pals program, which pairs volunteers with parents of sick children in need of ongoing encouragement. The pal sends notes or emails two or three times a week just to remind the mom or dad that someone cares and is thinking of them.

One of the group's most popular volunteer programs is the Elf Project. Hundreds of volunteers sign up each Fall to adopt a child for the holidays. Each "elf" is given information about their adopted child, as well as the child's wish list. Volunteers enjoy making the holidays merrier for these kids, some of whom won't live to see the next Christmas.

The Hugs and Hope Foundation can always use more hug givers and hope builders, so if you're a boomer with an empty nest, your heart need not be empty too. There are suffering little ones out there in need of encouragement, and you can provide it! It takes only a moment to drop a card in the mail, but it can make a child's day. Visit the Hugs and Hope web site ( www.hugsandhope.org ), read about these kids who are battling for life, and volunteer a few moments of your time to put more joy into their lives. The smile you create just might be your own