Silver Gopher Service Corps by the numbers
UMRA members have logged nearly 200 hours of volunteer service to the University and broader community through the Silver Gopher Service Corps since its launch six months ago. Fifty different volunteers have filled 70 openings—assisting with "Sneak Preview" undergraduate recruiting events, greeting students at convocation and helping them move into residence halls during Welcome Week, and packing weekend meals for elementary school students facing food insecurity at home.
Silver Gopher projects fill an important need for service and promote a team-oriented experience, allowing UMRA members to get to know each other while volunteering together.
Additional, near-term opportunities include landscape restoration projects with Great River Greening and welcoming prospective students and families to the U Admissions Office “Minnesota Experience” program. Going forward, the Silver Gopher program goal is to establish an annual series of opportunities for UMRA members.
If volunteering and getting to know more UMRA colleagues are among your goals for the new academic year, sign up for one of the projects announced through the UMRA-MEMBERS listserv and come for the fun (and work!) on the assigned day and time. To help promote UMRA in the community and present a team identity, participants are encouraged to wear a Silver Gopher Service Corps t-shirt or other U of M gear. To purchase one of these fine shirts for $15, email UMRA member Scott Elton.
—Jerry Rinehart, University Retirees Volunteer Center Leadership Council chair
News
UMRA hosted delegates from 14 of the 18 schools in the Big Ten for the 2026 Big Ten Retirees Association conference in July. It was described as “the perfect collaboration” by two delegates we invited to share a few of their key takeaways from the conference.
Developing communication skills is the focus of two programs needing volunteers this fall: the “Reader/Writer Program,” assisting students in Minneapolis Public Schools grades 7-12 to develop literacy skills; and “Partners in English,” engaging in conversation with adults for whom English is not their first language.
After being unexpectedly sidelined at the outset of her retirement, Pam Snopl now enjoys doing many of the things retirees get to do, including reconnecting in person with family and friends, going to museums and weekday Minnesota Twins games, reading, and writing.
UMRA member George Swan retired in 2021 after 30+ years at University Libraries, but still returns to campus to visit one or another of the libraries at least twice a week in his current role as a student/retiree.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program is an annual competition for grants to support projects related to retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarly or creative interests.
UMRA needs everyone to renew their membership for the coming year. Thank you if you’ve already renewed! If you haven’t, please renew right away.