100-year-old man volunteers 20 hours a week

Harold Hager of Steuben County NY is familiar with charitable work. A WWII Navy vet, he distributed food when his home region was devastated by Hurricane Agnes in 1972. When his wife of 71 years was placed in a nursing home, he visited every day. After she died, he connected with RSVP, an organization which helps seniors find volunteer opportunities. Habitat for Humanity's program touched his heart and he began volunteering with them in 2011. 

Six years later, Harold still donates about 20 hours a week to Habitat's ReStore, sorting the donated household goods and construction supplies. He was recently honored for donating the most hours of any volunteer for two years in a row.

Harold's goal is to reach 105. To the best of his ability, he wants to do so while continuing to touch the lives of those in his community.

Empathy, by design

In my decades-long career as a physical therapist, I witnessed and celebrated the evolution of what has become Universal Design.  Everything from a cushioned handle on a potato peeler to wheelchair-accessible sinks in public restrooms came about because someone identified a need and cared enough to act.

One of those people is Patricia Moore. As a young industrial designer in the 1970s, Patricia was the only woman in her workplace. Frustrated by her colleagues' emphasis on creating products for healthy, average men, she struck out on her own. She borrowed her grandmother's clothes and some clunky shoes, put in earplugs and got some glasses that distorted her vision. And she hit the streets.

In three years, she visited over 100 cities in the US and Canada disguised as an elderly woman. Sometimes she used a walker or a cane. Sometimes she dressed as if homeless, other times as if quite wealthy. She learned a lot, not just about the difficulties of normal aging or accessing the world with a physical disability. She also experienced first-hand the ugly truths of how people of different social classes are valued.

Her experiment yielded results. She started her own design firm and pushed for what she called 'empathetic design.' Patricia is now hailed as one of the founders of Universal Design, the industry standard.


Her unconventional approach has improved the lives of millions of people around the world. All because she cared enough to act.