UMRA’s Silver Gopher Service Corps welcomes you
The University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC) extends a special welcome to the 200-plus new members who have joined UMRA in the past two years. URVC is the primary means by which UMRA meets the “service” component of its tripartite mission of engagement, education, and service. If you are looking for ways to get to know other UMRA folks and, at the same time, to give back to the community, please consider participating in UMRA’s Silver Gopher Service Corps in the coming months.
The Silver Gopher program is one highly successful outcome of the recent UMRA and URVC reaffiliation. Since the program’s launch last spring, 60 UMRA members have volunteered in seven team projects, contributing 220 hours to the University campus and community.
Volunteers report they like activities that make a difference and, at the same time, allow them to meet new people. Scott Elton, for example, helped greet would-be students and their families participating in the Office of Admission’s “Future Gophers” program at the University last April. He reported that he enjoyed sporting his Silver Gopher Service Corps T-shirt as he snapped photos of families posing alongside a snow-covered Goldy near Coffman Memorial Union.
Building on a core set of projects from the past year, the Volunteer Center anticipates more team-oriented opportunities to be available in the coming months, such as:
- volunteering with Admissions and Orientation & Transition Experiences staff to welcome and guide new and prospective students and their families as they explore or transition to the U of M Twin Cities campus;
- volunteering with the local nonprofit Every Meal to pack weekend food supplies for underserved youth and other populations; and
- volunteering with Great River Greening on landscape and pollinator restoration projects in the Twin Cities area.
In addition to Silver Gopher projects, URVC works with campus and community organizations to develop meaningful individual volunteer engagement opportunities. In fact, over the past five years more than 400 URVC volunteers have provided approximately 38,000 hours of service to the University and community.
Visit the URVC website for additional information, or contact the URVC office at [email protected] or 612-625-8016.
—Peggy Mann Rinehart
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: