Staying busy and relevant
Many older people are finding new ways to enjoy life, give back
CHICAGO — Walking into Haven Studios, a music mentoring program on the South Side, Arthur DuBois was told by founder Andre “Add-2” Daniels that the space was for young folks. DuBois’ retort: “I’m young at heart.” The Bronzeville resident has rehearsed and recorded more than two dozen trap music beats, a sub-genre of hip-hop that went mainstream in the late ’90s, simply for fun. A YouTube video of his beat-making skills went viral in March and now boasts nearly 173,000 views. The newfound fame landed him coverage on “Windy City Live,” Rollingstone.com, CBSNews.com, NPR. com and Buzzfeed. DuBois is working with Haven, and Add-2 is serving as his mentor and adviser.
“At 72, I don’t consider myself old,” DuBois said. “I’m still alive. As long as you’re still alive, age doesn’t mean nothing. If you still want to do something at your age, do it.”
He’s not alone in that mindset. Social Security kicks in just after age 66, when traditional retirement — think traveling or migration to warmer climates — used to be the norm. Now, a recordbreaking share of Americans plan to keep working. A 2018 Gallup poll found that 41% of non-retirees expect to work past 66, and a Census data analysis by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found seniors in big cities are the most likely to do so.
To be sure, financial need plays a role for many. Others with more economic stability simply want to challenge themselves.
Like DuBois, these three Chicagoarea seniors, all in their 70s, no longer have to work for a living, but have chosen to stay busy and relevant by giving back to the community — each testaments to the adage “young at heart.”
Barbara & Sheldon Stein — philanthropists
Barbara and Sheldon Stein, a Near North Side couple of over 60 years, called the Rev. Michael Pfleger in 2015. Even as non parishioners, the retired teacher and retired attorney knew of his work in the Auburn Gresham community and wanted to be part of the good the St. Sabina priest does.
The result: A community garden on the church’s property (planted in 2018) and The Barbara and Sheldon Stein Scholarship Fund (founded in 2016), which helps high school students.
“Education is the most important thing,” said Sheldon, 90. “Friends fall away and disappear, and here’s an opportunity to make a new friendship, a new relationship and it’s not one of talk, but one of do. For older people, it’s very important to have these kinds of relationships and even better to have one that amounts to a wonderful project.”
The couple, along with Pfleger, selects students who are interested in college, but need help financing it. To receive the “Stein Fund,” students must demonstrate financial need, be connected to the church congregation in some way, submit an essay or letter about why they should receive the scholarship, maintain a B grade average and, once done with their degree, give back to the community from which they came.
Funded by the Steins via “a lifetime of working, saving, investing,” the scholarship has helped 10 students since its inception, including Ivry Hall, a recent freshman at Alabama State University.
The young boxer lost both parents prior to college and said that had it not been for the Steins’ scholarship, he doesn’t know where he would be now.
“Of course, not in college,” he said. “If this didn’t happen, I could find myself back on the street. But look at me now, I’m in college and I finished my first year with all A’s and one B. I’m doing great. I’m grateful to them.” Hall plans to major in business and open up a boxing gym one day.
Yvonne Green — holistic wellness coach
If Yvonne Green’s white mohawk doesn’t grab you, her ability to do the full splits might. The 70-year-old described herself as a “partier” in the 1970s, as well as overweight and a smoker. The Bronzeville native took up running in the 1980s and, during the transition, started wandering into health food stores and researching holistic living. Her “a-ha moment” had arrived. Green’s self-improvement journey prompted her to start YBG & Associates, a South Side holistic health consulting and communication business.
Since 1983, she has conducted seminars and workshops focused on “whole person wellness” — mental, emotional, physical, spiritual, social, cultural, political and financial — for individuals and organizations throughout Chicagoland.
In addition to working for her paying clientele, the Baby Boomer volunteers her services for struggling populations, including people reentering society after incarceration, and those in substance abuse programs and transitional living facilities. Green has worked with Prosperity House, a transitional living program for women and men on the city’s South Side, for seven years.
“Most of the women I have are recovering from drug addiction, some are homeless, some are coming from incarceration — I got the gamut,” said Beverly Dawson, founder and CEO. “Ms. Green does maybe a month’s worth of classes … teaching the women how to love themselves, raise their consciousness and self-esteem up, and how to take care of themselves and how important it is to take the time to work on themselves. She helps the women heal, and the women just love her.”
“Once I found this way, I could never go back,” Green said. “Your health is your foundation to your wealth. If you have a strong foundation — it doesn’t matter what you do, you’ll be able to sustain. You change, you keep adjusting, you don’t retire from your life.”