A better way to manage your volunteer activities
If you’re looking for a new volunteer activity, or if you’ve already served in a rewarding activity through the University Retiree Volunteers Center (URVC), soon you’ll be able to explore a broad range of opportunities and easily enroll online. Better Impact, URVC’s new volunteer management system, will allow users to explore projects, consider schedules, and sign up online to volunteer.
Users of the Better Impact system will be able to search all the projects currently supported by the URVC or use a filtering option to show only those projects which correspond to their interests. URVC administrative staffers Sally Schakel and Alan Kagan have provided significant input for this exciting transition, by populating the Better Impact site with information about projects seeking volunteers as well as the interest profiles of current URVC volunteers. URVC staff will still be available by phone or email to answer questions and provide other help.
A unique username and secure password will be required to use the Better Impact system, and volunteers will be encouraged to enter or update their interest profiles to indicate the kinds of projects that appeal to them. The volunteer profiles and activity selections provide important guidance to the URVC staff about the kinds of projects to support and promote in the future.
When URVC’s Better Impact rollout is imminent, current URVC volunteers will receive an email with information about how to get started. The rollout is planned for the first quarter of 2019, as soon as user testing is completed.
—John Anderson and Marva Sullivan, URVC
News
The election of UMRA officers and new board members for 2024–25 will be conducted via an online poll from May 13 to 19, with the results to be announced at our annual meeting on May 21. Look for the ballot in your email inbox on May 13. Diane Young has been nominated to be president-elect.
“I convinced myself I could handle this problem without support groups or doing additional research, but that’s only because I didn’t want to make it any more real than it already was. Denial comes in many forms, and one is to avoid thinking about the problem any more than need be.” —Alice A. Larson
Meet UMRA member Peter Moe. He retired in 2023 after a career that spanned nearly half a century at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and is credited with developing the “Arb” into one of the few in the U.S. with world-class fruit and landscape breeding programs.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC) has welcomed two new members with valuable skills and experience to the URVC Leadership Council: Lynn Slifer and Jeanne Jacobson.
The University plans to remove retirees from the @umn.edu internet identity domain on December 7. UMRA has advocated for ensuring continued access to this identity (including email, Google Workspace, and associated services), citing University retirees’ enduring contributions to and engagement with the University. Thus far, our efforts have not prompted any change of plans.
Leading the online Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays has been a labor of love for Kris Bettin. Alas, a change in family needs has necessitated her retirement. So, JOIE is seeking a new leader to join a savvy editorial committee of five and bring fresh ideas for continued development of the UMRA-sponsored journal.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to explore your photographic interests, hone your photographic skills, and hear what other retirees are up to, the UMRA Photo Club is a great place to be. We have fun! And whatever your skill level, there is room for everybody.
Soon you will receive an email or letter inviting you to renew your UMRA membership for the 2024–25 year. Please renew before you get busy with your summer activities. Your support helps to make our programs and many other member benefits possible!
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details: