1. travel

IMPACT
Evolving With the Needs
of Our Participants:
Introducing Impact
Dear Friend,
An axiom attributed to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus states there is
nothing permanent except change.
Change, transformation, evolution. These are key components of learning
and, as such, are highly valued at Road Scholar. We are proud of the significant impact Road Scholar has had in changing and transforming America’s
understanding of aging and,
more importantly, the way
older adults perceive themselves and the importance of
learning throughout life.
Adapting to generational,
social and technological
differences, as well as to
changing interests and expecAs our community grows each year, new participants
tations, is why Road Scholar is
find their worldview evolving.
not just the organization that
pioneered lifelong learning opportunities for adults, but also an organization
that endures and continues to grow in importance to society.
We take particular delight in the many ways our participants’ lives are
enriched by Road Scholar adventures. Every year our community of friends
grows as new participants experience their first Road Scholar programs,
returning home with new perceptions, unique experiences and a changed
perspective on some aspect of the world around us. All Road Scholar
participants find their world view evolving with each new, inspiring learning
adventure.
We ask all Road Scholar participants to help us understand the impact our
programs might have on their lives — whether they’ve learned something
new or come to see the world in a different light. The stories we hear are
continued on page 2
Thank you.
“It’s important for older people
— especially those living
alone — not to stagnate.
Instead, people should
experience the world, take on
new challenges and make
new friends. That’s what
Road Scholar is all about.”
— Renee R., Road Scholar
participant and supporter
Our learning adventures
provide enrichment for
adults, supporting them on
their path to healthy aging.
Donors like you make that
possible.
Every generous gift impacts
one or more participants by
giving us the freedom to
create educational programs
designed not for profitability, but rather to serve the
wide-ranging needs of
adults with different dreams,
interests, priorities and
abilities.
For that, we thank you.
Evolving With the Needs of Our Participants (continued from page 1)
Your Year-End Gift
Will Make an Impact
often deeply moving and always inspirational. This concept of “impact” is the
best way we’ve found to measure how our programs fulfill the mission of
Road Scholar and positively affect society. We’ve learned that the love of
learning espoused by Road Scholar participants is as powerful today as it was
when we were founded in 1975.
While the world has changed significantly in the two decades since the first
Elderhostel Planned Giving Newsletter was printed, Road Scholar’s dedication
to creating stimulating learning experiences across North America and
around the world is as strong as ever. To emphasize the impact of learning in
the lives of our participants and on society in general, we are pleased to share
with you this inaugural issue of Impact. More than 35,000 donors support
Road Scholar’s mission by contributing to our Annual Fund each year. Our
Planned and Major Gift donors provide essential funds to support the development of new and innovative learning programs that continue to impact
the lives of adults who join our community of lifelong learning. Inside you
will find stories and information about how gifts to Elderhostel directly
impact the lives of older adults. I hope this first edition of Impact will inspire
you to demonstrate your generosity and support our mission to change and
transform lives through learning.
As you start planning for
the season of thanks and
giving, please consider
adding Road Scholar to
your gift-giving list!
Remember that making
charitable gifts to Road
Scholar can be beneficial in
many ways, providing
essential support for Road
Scholar, while producing a
2014 charitable income tax
deduction for you, whatever
the size of your gift. To
donate by phone, call (877)
426-8056. You may also
make a gift on our secure
website at www.roadscholar.
org/support.
2
In the Fall 1995 issue of the Elderhostel Planned Giving Newsletter, we
interviewed participants and donors Paull and Dorothy Gettier for an article
about their generous
giving history with
We take particular delight
Elderhostel. In describing
his favorite program
in the many ways Road
experience, Mr. Gettier
Scholar adventures enrich
said, “The fact that every
one of the rangers who
our participants’ lives.
taught us was an expert
on the subject really made
an impact.” About the organization, he said, “Where else can you meet
people eager to learn and participate and who are truly unique and interesting individuals?”
Twenty years ago, the impact Elderhostel programs had on the Gettiers
moved them to give in support of our mission. That mission continues today
and the impact of Road Scholar programs on millions of lives is as important
as ever. Thank you for you generous support of and dedication to our mission.
With warmest regards,
James Moses
Road Scholar President
ROAD SCHOLAR IMPACT | FALL 2014
A New York Times Reporter Was Sold on
Road Scholar With the Very First Keystroke
“Orman W. Ketchum put on a wig,
stuck two enormous ‘beaver’ teeth
between his lips, went out on stage
and danced his version of the
Charleston.”
So began a 1994 article in The New
York Times about a group of older
adults participating in a unique
learning adventure in upstate New
York. The “program” was created by
an organization called Elderhostel
and The New York Times journalist
was Enid Nemy.
Inspired by what she reported on so
many years before, Enid began
traveling with Elderhostel in 2008,
and recently completed her third
educational adventure. It was a
voyage just this last January around
the island of Cuba, where she
Enid Nemy reported on Elderhostel in 1994.
She has since participated in three programs.
gained a special perspective of the
Cuban people, their art, history and
way of life.
“The concept of lifelong learning
always fascinated me, and
Elderhostel was a pioneer in the
field,” Enid says. As a Times journalist, she wrote several articles
about Elderhostel (now Road
paper. Her feature subjects included
feminism, battered children, drugs,
education — and, of course, lifelong
learning. Her interview subjects
ranged from Queen Noor of Jordan
to the Philippines’ Benigno Aquino,
It is wonderful meeting people from such
different backgrounds, who all have a shared
interest and a curiosity about the world.
Scholar), helping to make the
organization a household name.
As a participant today, Enid not
only values the unique educational
experiences that Road Scholar
provides, she is also inspired by
participants she meets on her
adventures. “I love the diversity of
people who attend Road Scholar
trips,” she says. “Teachers, lawyers,
doctors, farmers — and they come
from all over the country. It is
wonderful meeting people from
such different backgrounds, who all
have a shared interest and a curiosity about the world.”
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Enid
began her journalism career with
The Canadian Press (an affiliate of
the Associated Press) and joined
The New York Times in 1963,
working there for nearly 40 years.
A feature writer, reporter and
columnist, her writing at the Times
spanned nearly all sections of the
but her favorite assignments were
accompanying President and Mrs.
Reagan abroad to a 1982 summit
meeting in Europe and their 1984
trip to China.
Enid’s love of journeying to exotic
lands didn’t end when she retired
from the Times. With Road
Scholar, not only has she learned
about Cuba firsthand, she has also
experienced the ancient culture of
Capitolio building, Havana, Cuba
continued on page 5
ROAD SCHOLAR IMPACT | FALL 2014
3
Scholarships
Impact Those in
Financial Need
Road Scholar offers scholarships to lifelong learners
who have the desire but not
the means to participate in
our programs. Since 1975,
we are proud to have
awarded over $7 million in
scholarships to adults who
love to learn.
Here’s how our program
works: we award up to $900
in tuition assistance for a U.S.
program whose total cost is
under $1,400. Applicants
must submit a personal
statement and financial
information. Our committee
then selects deserving
applicants who will add to
the educational experience
of the entire group.
Promoting economic diversity among participants adds
new insights and perspectives
to the educational experience.
In this way, scholarships
enrich the experience for all
participants.
To make a donation to the
Scholarship Fund, or to
learn about establishing a
Named Scholarship, call
Ann Lamond toll free at
(877) 737-0664 or visit
www.roadscholar.org/
scholarships.
4
Scholarship Spreads Ripples
of Goodness
For years, Rebecca W. would get the Road Scholar catalog in the mail and
dream. An administrative assistant at Grand Valley State University in
Michigan, Rebecca was pursuing a degree to become a physician’s assistant.
With a new career still in the future, she wasn’t sure when she’d be able to
afford to participate in a Road Scholar learning adventure. When her
24-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer and moved back home to
undergo treatment, that dream seemed even further away.
“My son had been living with me at home for about six months having
chemotherapy. It was very hard going for both of us, and we each needed
some time apart. That’s when I opened up the Road Scholar catalog and first
noticed the advertisement for
your scholarship program,”
Rebecca recalled.
Service programs like the one at Camp Make-ADream combine learning and community outreach.
Each year, Road Scholar awards
more than $200,000 in scholarships to adults who have the
desire to participate in our
learning adventures, but not the
means. They are designed for
people just like Rebecca.
“I filled out the scholarship
application and was accepted in the program I wanted,” she said.
Of all the programs in the United States Rebecca was eligible to participate
in, which did she choose? “Having experienced what my son had been going
through, I wanted to chip in and make a difference for someone having the
same kind of struggle,” she said. “That’s why I selected the Road Scholar
program at Camp Make-A-Dream.”
A Labor of Love: Lend a Hand at Camp Make-A-Dream is our Service
Learning program in Montana, where participants help out in this special
camp for children and families affected by cancer.
“When I first arrived I was in awe of my fellow participants. Each person was
so generous and many had participated in dozens of Road Scholar Service
programs like this one. We all pitched in, and I had such a great time working
with these people. We cleaned, painted, washed walls, did some gardening.
We all had a sense of pride and formed a wonderful team in the process.”
What happened next surprised even Rebecca.
ROAD SCHOLAR IMPACT | FALL 2014
“At the end of the week, I was talking with the director of the camp, telling
him about my son, who had just been declared cancer-free right before I got
there,” Rebecca said. “I told him the camp was exactly what my son needed,
but we couldn’t afford to send him. Then the director told me about the
scholarship program
that they have for
I wanted to chip in and
eligible campers.
When I came home,
make a difference for
I told my son and he
someone having the same
immediately filled out
an application. He was
kind of struggle.
given a full scholarship
that summer! It was a
life-changing experience for him. He made lifelong friends. When he got
home, he was determined to go back there and volunteer as a counselor.
He’s since gone back twice, working with little kids.
“That one Road Scholar scholarship that I received not only changed my life,
it also completely turned my son’s life around. I just want to thank all the
generous people who make the Road Scholar scholarships available. I want
them to know the difference their generosity has made.”
To learn about donating to our scholarship program, please visit
www.roadscholar.org/scholarships or call toll free at (877) 426-8056.
CHARITABLE GIFT ANNUITIES 101
$20,000 Cash
Donor,
age 76
6.0%
Charitable
Gift
Annuity
Immediate
income tax deduction
Elderhostel
Remainder to
Elderhostel
BENEFITS
Annual income payments
Immediate: Income tax deduction of $9,148
Annual: Annual income payments of $1,200 for life of annuitant, age 76,
$919 tax-free for the first 11.8 years
Future: Elderhostel receives the remainder after your lifetime and your
estate may benefit from reduced taxes.
For more information contact Ann Lamond, Sr. Leadership and Planned Giving
Officer, at [email protected] or toll free at (877) 737-0664.
Elderhostel charitable gift annuities are available in most states and follow the rates suggested by the American
Council on Gift Annuities. No legal advice is provided and individuals should seek the advice of their own legal counsel.
A New York Times Reporter
(continued from page 3)
Burma and even crossed Russia
aboard the Trans-Siberian Railway.
“While on my program across
Siberia, we saw the solar eclipse,”
she recalls. “During the eclipse, we
had seats near a lake. It went dark
in a matter of minutes and as soon
as it did, the birds stopped singing.
It was eerie, but the moment the
sun came back the birds started
singing again. The whole experience
was a revelation.”
Still living in her beloved New York
City today, Enid is very active in the
theater community. She is on the
board of the American Theatre
Wing — the creator of the Tony
Awards — as well as president of
the Dorothy Strelsin Foundation,
which gives charitable donations to
worthwhile recipients such as
off-Broadway theaters, the New
York City Library and the
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Through the Dorothy Strelsin
Foundation, Enid also supports
Road Scholar at the leadership level,
and the Foundation has been a
member of our Lifelong Learning
Society since its inception in 2007.
“Road Scholar opens up experiences
to people who might not otherwise
have the opportunity,” Enid says
when asked why she believes in
supporting the organization. “It is a
very worthwhile not-for-profit with
a unique mission that should be
preserved. It has been an honor to
give our support.”
ROAD SCHOLAR IMPACT | FALL 2014
5
Road Scholar’s
First Employee
Has Done It All
In 1977, Mike Zoob bet his career
on Road Scholar. Friend and former
colleague Bill Berkeley was about to
become the first president of the
not-yet-incorporated organization,
and he wanted Mike to come on
board as its first official employee.
Mike’s first responsibility, Bill
explained, would be to raise the
funds needed to pay his own salary.
Mike, a graduate of Harvard Law
School, replied that a person would
have to be, in his words, “absolutely
nuts” to even consider such a risky
proposition. But after observing a
program, he found himself inspired
by the engaged and enthusiastic
participants and realized that the
fledgling organization had hit on
something big. He agreed to take
the job as Road Scholar’s Vice
President of Fundraising, Catalog
and Marketing.
Mike Zoob has attended Road Scholar Intergenerational programs with three of his grandchildren,
including his youngest granddaughter, Evelyn, age 7. He’s planning another in 2016.
and has attended six programs as a
participant himself, reaping the
rewards of the lifelong learning
movement he helped found.
“I just returned from a program in
Gettysburg with my eldest grandson, Theodore,” Mike says about his
third Intergenerational program. On
his first two, he explored the Grand
On Road Scholar programs, education
is primary and the travel element is built
around it.
Mike’s tremendous gamble paid off
and millions of lives have been
enriched in the nearly 40 years
since. Today, Mike still serves Road
Scholar as Senior Advisor to the
President. He also supports the
organization at the leadership level
6
Canyon with his eldest granddaughter, Gwendolyn, and the
Tetons with his youngest granddaughter, Evelyn. “I also have a
7-year-old grandson, Nathaniel, and
I’m taking him on a program in
ROAD SCHOLAR IMPACT | FALL 2014
2016. I have to keep myself in shape
for that. He’s counting on it.”
What made Mike a believer in
Road Scholar was the special
interaction among that first group
of participants he observed back in
1977. “In a way, all travel is educational, because learning is a
byproduct of exploring somewhere
new,” he explains. “But on Road
Scholar programs, education is
primary and the travel element is
built around it. When learning is
the goal of travel rather than a
consequence of it, you attract
interesting participants who learn
from one another, and that enhances
the experience enormously.”
Mike has made it his life’s work to
advocate for the ideals of Road
Scholar, and those who meet him
can’t help but be impressed by his
belief in the values of the organization.
“Mike has the natural ability to
reach people with his enthusiasm
for Road Scholar,” says Carol L., a
longtime participant and supporter
who has known Mike for many
years. “It has only grown over the
years that I have known him.”
Mike understands better than
anyone why the organization
depends on the generosity of its
donors. He knows firsthand that
tuition alone doesn’t cover the
administrative costs of running a
program and he himself supports
Road Scholar financially to help
bridge the gap.
“Road Scholar offers an incredible
array of programs in all areas of
study, much like a university that
offers courses in somewhat arcane
and obscure topics,” he says. “Not
every subject Road Scholar offers
makes economic sense, but they all
make sense from the perspective of
its mission to educate and enrich
older adults. Support from donors
allows the organization to offer
programs in a uniquely broad range
of interests.”
Mike has also seen testamentary
giving and major gifts buoy the
organization in thin times. “For a
period after 2001, and then again
after the recession, people weren’t
traveling much,” Mike remembers.
“We, like many other organizations,
had to engage in significant
belt-tightening and the resources we
had accumulated helped us weather
the storm.”
Mike hopes the continued generosity of its supporters will make sure
Road Scholar is around for another
40 years and beyond so generations
still to come can experience its
benefits. “It’s important to know
and count on the fact that my
children and their children will be
able to experience the joy of learning through Road Scholar.”
Stock: A Tax-Wise
Way to Give
A gift of stock to Road
Scholar can be one of the
most advantageous ways to
support lifelong learning.
Giving long-term, appreciated securities may provide
greater benefits for you!
Contribute stock and
you can:
•Receive a charitable tax
deduction for the full
market value of the stock,
which can lower your taxes.
•Avoid paying capital gains
tax on the long-term gain
when you make an outright gift of appreciated
stock you have owned for
more than one year to
Road Scholar.
“Donating stock to
Road Scholar allowed
me to support the
development of new
programs that I love
and receive valuable
tax benef its as well.” — M.S.
For instructions on transferring stock directly to Road
Scholar, please visit www.
roadscholar.org/support/
GiftsofStock.asp. You may
also call us toll free at (877)
737-0664 or contact ann.
[email protected]
Mike Zoob and his granddaughter Gwendolyn on an Intergenerational program in Arizona.
ROAD SCHOLAR IMPACT | FALL 2014
7
Non-Profit
Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
11 Avenue de Lafayette | Boston, MA 02111-1746
Elderhostel
How your support enriches lives and opens doors of discovery.
Introducing Impact — new for supporters of Road Scholar!
Inside the First-Ever Road Scholar Impact:
•Donor Profiles:
Meet Mike Zoob and Enid Nemy.
• Scholarship Spreads Ripples of Goodness
•Charitable Gift Annuities 101: Everything to
know about the gift that gives back.
Celebrating 40 years of joy and learning with Road Scholar!
Visit www.roadscholar.org/40years for more information.
11 Avenue de Lafayette
Boston, MA 02111-1746
www.roadscholar.org