County benefits from teens and retirees working together

Key Takeaways

Cumberland County, Ky., an understaffed and under resourced rural county, is bringing together its teen and aging populations to serve as volunteers, enabling the county to launch new — and expand existing — programming. 

The “Retired and Inspired” initiative mobilizes and trains students and older adults to help with everything from a toy drive to emergency management. It helps ease the burden for overworked county employees, while providing opportunities for youth to gain experience and for retirees with some extra time on their hands to get more involved with the community. 

The enjoyment gained from volunteering “far outweighs the achy joints” it can create, joked volunteer Bob Howlett.

“It’s very enlightening and inspiring,” said his wife, Joyce, who also volunteers through the initiative. “To me, the youth are part of the team. I don’t think of age; it’s just we’re all in it together, and we each help each other.”

With a budget of $8 million, Cumberland County’s roughly two dozen employees must be resourceful and flexible, noted County Judge/Executive Luke King. Last summer, when the county experienced record rainfall, road maintenance crews weren’t the only ones working to clear the roads.

County staff across departments, including King, took to the streets with chainsaws to help.

According to King, having more than 60 volunteers ready to help at a moment’s notice has eased the burden on overworked county staff, allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities and better serve the community.

“If you give the ‘under 20s’ a chance, it will give the ‘over 40s’ a reason to say yes,” King said. “… And by giving them a reason and the younger people an opportunity, you’re giving all the people in the middle a break, because those of us that are in these positions, especially in rural counties with very tight budgets, we’re doing four and five jobs already. 

“So, when they can take that phone call and help that constituent, that’s 30 minutes of my time on another task that only I could do.”

The county has distributed more than $400,000 worth of groceries through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Supplemental Food Program. Three years ago, it took an hour and 36 minutes to complete each distribution. Now, with the help of “Retired and Inspired” volunteers, it takes less than 30 minutes, according to King.

“Connecting with people has been wonderful and really getting out there and getting stuff like toys, food and other such things to the public, it’s been really fun,” said Evan Stotts, one of the program’s youth volunteers. “And it’s been a real drive. I didn’t know that that would be so fulfilling … and it’s really built a bridge of us ‘under 20s’ and the ‘over 40s,’ really building a sense of community with each other. 

“This is everyone’s home. Let’s make it better for everyone.”

Cumberland County Animal Control only has two full-time staff members. Having the support of volunteers has helped make countywide animal adoption day events possible, according to Animal Control Officer Danny Groce. One volunteer even sewed dog beds for the shelter.

“It’s been a big benefit,” Groce said. “We could not do the adoption days without them. There’s no way to control that many dogs with just two people, so we have to have them to help.”

Emmalee Fulton, a 17-year-old volunteer, said the experience has been a great opportunity to learn from people with more life experience and connect with the community, which she had recently moved to from Salt Lake City, Utah.

“When I got a call from my dad saying I was moving to the middle of nowhere, Kentucky, I was — I’ll be honest — not excited at all,” Fulton said. “I mean we were moving onto a farm, so that was really new to me. One of the biggest things I was worried about was a lack of opportunity.”

Fulton got connected to “Retired and Inspired” through her high school’s Civics Club.

“I could not believe that a county of this size had a program like this,” Fulton said. “… For us younger people, it’s opened our minds to be more adaptable and flexible in whatever environment that we work with, and I’ve really loved volunteering and working with the older folks.”

Sadie Arterburn, a college freshman who previously served as the Civics Club judge executive, is the youngest-ever appointed member of the Cumberland County Chamber of Commerce. Another teen volunteer was appointed to the local board of health, according to King.

“Retired and Inspired” is a tool the county hopes will help retain its younger population, King noted. The median age in Cumberland County is 45.1 years old, which is roughly 16% higher than the median age of Kentucky and nationally. 

“It is the only thing that I think can save a county like ours from itself when it comes to brain drain,” King said. “We talk about how ‘Oh we need something for the youth. Oh, we want our youth to stay.’ 

“But if we’re not willing to pair all of that experience, all of that wisdom, all of that technical expertise and knowledge of our retired population with our younger folks, we’re not really giving them a fighting chance to stick around.”   

Cumberland County’s Retired and Inspired initiative was the 2026 NACo Achievement Award “Best in Category” winner in the Volunteers category.