A recent survey jointly sponsored by UMRA and the University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC) prompted some respondents to ask why there are two organizations at the University promoting volunteerism by retirees. UMRA’s mission statement includes a specific goal to facilitate opportunities for voluntary service to the University and community. URVC is singularly focused on facilitating volunteering.  

More than 30 years ago, UMRA created a committee focused on connecting retirees with volunteer opportunities. For reasons which are unknown, the volunteer coordination function was separated from UMRA a few years later and became a separate organization, URVC. Later on, UMRA became legally and financially independent from the University. In contrast, URVC is organizationally under the umbrella of the University’s Office of University Relations, from which it receives a modest annual financial allocation to pay for office expenses and on-campus parking by volunteers. 

Brief announcements of URVC projects are routinely reported in the UMRA Newsletter. Periodically, UMRA members also receive email messages from URVC announcing opportunities for volunteering. This cooperative communication is a carryover from the origin of URVC as a part of UMRA. 

All volunteers, whether involved through UMRA or through URVC, are to be applauded for their commitment to giving back and supporting the University and the surrounding community. 

For more information about URVC, please visit urvc.umn.edu. To become a URVC volunteer, click on Get Started at the top of the home page. 

—John Anderson, chair, UMRA Membership Committee and URVC Board of Directors