Sen. Barack Obama, campaigning in Iowa, said he wants to increase opportunities for older Americans to contribute to society by creating new volunteer programs, the AP reports.

Obama said he would expand programs such as Senior Corps, which provides opportunities for about 500,000 older adults. He proposed scholarships and stipends that could be used for education or to pad retirement savings.

“I believe that Americans of all age are still willing to serve this country in ways big and small,” Obama said at a rally at Iowa State University. “I think the problem is no one has asked you. That will change when I am president.”

More than 60 percent of the activists who showed up for Democratic precinct caucuses in both 2000 and 2004 were older than 50, the AP reported.