Elaine Welch rests on the bumper of her husband's car, whose license plate promotes the senior transportation program he runs.

During her first carefree months of retirement at the age of 53, Elaine Welch, a registered nurse, loved the freedom to meet a friend for lunch. She had the cleanest closets in California. She even tried golf. “I had never been so busy doing so little,” she said.

Depressed and seeking purpose in her life, she decided to return to work. Almost 10 years later, she manages programs that serve seniors in her own and surrounding communities. “And I want to help improve senior services throughout the country,” Welch said.

Welch didn’t plan to go back to work when she retired in 1999 from her position as director of Medicare clinical operations at Kaiser Foundation, a job that afforded her satisfaction as a key corporate manager. After a lifetime of working and saving, she was financially independent, so she accepted a severance package, packed up her desk and went home.

During her stint as a retiree, she realized that even though money was not a factor, satisfaction had become a top priority. She knew she had to get back to work.

First, she applied for corporate jobs in the field she had recently left. But even though she was willing to return at a much lower salary, employers weren’t taking her seriously. She kept getting rejections, and she found they were hiring candidates 20 years younger. “It made me angry,” she said, “and then I started tuning in to the fact that this wasn’t my bliss. I decided to look for jobs that were more meaningful.”

During this period, Welch started volunteering. Her first position as an adult literacy tutor was incredibly rewarding. She then volunteered to be an ombudsman advocating for seniors in long-term care facilities. The more she volunteered, the more she felt attracted to community service. “I wanted to make a difference,” she said.

Turning her attention toward nonprofits, she applied for a management position with an innovative organization that serves seniors, and was hired by the organization then called Senior Helpline Services in Lafayette, Calif. Something felt right the moment she walked in the door. “When I was a child, I adored my grandparents, and I learned so much from them. I realized that with all the love I felt for seniors, I now had the opportunity to help them live a better life,” she remarked.

Today, almost 10 years later, Welch is the executive director of what is now called Contra Costa for Every Generation in Pleasant Hill, Calif. The organization’s mission is to make Contra Costa County a great place to grow old. Its innovative programs include a broad range of services for seniors, such as helping people decide when to stop driving and how to maintain their independence, dispelling myths and misunderstandings about aging, and training seniors to recognize and prevent financial abuse.

One of her jobs is to keep the agency funded. “I call myself a professional beggar because of all the time I spend raising money. Of course, that’s harder than ever,” she said.

The economic downturn also has affected her personal financial situation. “When I retired from Kaiser, my husband and I had all the money we needed. In fact, when I started working for the nonprofit, I donated most of my paycheck back to the organization. After the downturn, we lost 50 percent of our savings. We never thought we would be in this position. We need these paychecks,” she explained.

Her 70-year-old husband is also employed in the nonprofit sector. After years as a retired engineer, he caught the passion and volunteered as a driver for a senior transportation program. When a job opened up at the agency, he was hired to manage the program. His choice has emotional as well as financial benefits. “When I see my husband helping seniors,” she says, “I feel like I’m falling in love with him again.”

She has come a long way since her retirement. “Every day, I go to work with a smile on my face, and every day I leave the office smiling,” Welch said. I find that I’ve found my bliss by serving others. There’s no other joy like it. I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”

Jerry Waxler, M.S., blogs about life story writing on the Memory Writers Network.