URVC—Making a difference
More than 500 U of M retirees, spouses, partners, and friends currently participate in virtual or on-site volunteer opportunities—on the Twin Cities campus or in the metro area—offered through the University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC). Working with U of M units and community agencies, the all-volunteer URVC project team facilitates the development of these volunteer opportunities and the recruitment of participants.
A sampling of current and upcoming volunteer opportunities includes:
Future City Competition seeking judges
The Future City Competition engages more than 45,000 middle school students each year throughout the United States and abroad. Students attest that the program increases their motivation and excitement about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), and teachers report a marked improvement in students’ 21st century skills.
“A Waste-Free Future” is the theme for the 2021–22 competition. Engineers, surveyors, architects, city planners, scientists, and other STEM professionals are needed to volunteer as judges to evaluate the students’ work.
Afghan refugee resettlement
Since September, more than 100 Afghan families have arrived in Minnesota after fleeing their country under extreme circumstances. One of the Minnesota agencies providing volunteers to assist with services for those arrivals is the Salvation Army Northern Division Emergency Disaster Services.
Working alongside Hennepin Country Human Services site managers, volunteers help with immediate needs for the evacuees—bringing meals, sorting donations, having fun with the kids!—at a temporary shelter in a metro-area hotel.
To find the registration links for both these activities, log on to the URVC volunteer site and click on the Projects tab at the top of home page. Or you may contact URVC by email (preferred) at URVC@umn.edu or by phone at 612-625-8016.
Literacy Mentors needed for East Side Learning Center
A key aspect of the tutoring and mentoring programs at the East Side Learning Center (ESLC) in St. Paul is the one-on-one time students have with a caring adult. For this Literacy Mentors program, volunteers will work with preK to third grade students who are not yet at age-appropriate reading level and will benefit from one-on-one, in-person, or virtual tutoring.
ESCL is an affiliate host of the national, intergenerational tutoring program, AARP Foundation Experience Corps.
Interested volunteers please contact ESLC Volunteer Coordinator Shoua Khang at shoua.khang@eslcmn.org or 651-504-4888 or URVC at URVC@umn.edu or 612-625-8016.
—Deanne Magnusson, URVC vice chair and project director
May Meeting
At A Glance
Tuesday, May 24, 2022
2022 Annual Meeting and Forum
Welcome back!
Campus Club, Fourth Floor
West Wing Dining Room
Coffman Memorial Union
10:45 a.m. |
Check in |
11:15 a.m. |
Buffet lunch |
Noon |
Annual Meeting and Forum |
Featured speaker |
Menu
Chicken in heirloom tomato sauce with roasted Yukon Gold potatoes and seasonal vegetables. GF.
For vegetarian/vegan option, please request when making your reservation.
RSVP by May 13
Prepayment of $25 per person.
Reserve and pay online or contact Diane Young at young054@umn.edu.
Cancellations and refunds will be honored until May 13. We are not able to accommodate registrations on the day of the event.
Parking
For a discount of $1 per hour in University parking facilities, use the QR code on the back of your UMRA membership card when exiting. Credit cards only.
UMRA policy requires all participants to be vaccinated. Masks are optional.
Make your reservation today!
Unable to attend in person? Please register and join UMRA’s 2022 Annual Meeting and Forum via Zoom.
NEWS

The root cause of the homeless problem is the housing crisis, according to Tim Marx, a leading authority on homelessness in the Twin Cities and the guest speaker for UMRA’s April 2022 forum, “Advancing the public good through housing.” More …
Jean Kinsey and Frank Busta spent 3 weeks in Turkey in 2013. They share their incredible experience through pictures and wonderful descriptions that include archaeological, historical, religious, political, culinary, and geological perspectives.

Age-related eye diseases including macular degeneration and glaucoma were discussed during UMRA’s April 2022 workshop with Dr. Erik van Kuijk, chair of the U of M Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences. More …

The Things They Carried is an exquisitely written collection of short stories by Minnesota-born author Tim O’Brien about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War. More …
This year’s election of UMRA’s officers and new board members will be conducted via an online poll from May 17 to 22. More …
The University of Minnesota Retirees Association and the University Retirees Volunteer Center have agreed to reconnect as a single organization to broaden and expand volunteer service opportunities for U of M retirees. More …

Meet Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers, an UMRA member since 2021 who’s fast-paced job in the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory amplified her respect for anyone involved in public health regarding the COVID crisis. More …
Social media is a fantastic way to communicate, share, and have fun with others; it is also a low-cost way for cyber criminals to trick and take advantage of millions of people. More …
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program provides funding for University of Minnesota retirees to continue their scholarship or pursue interesting new projects. All U of M retirees are eligible to participate in the annual competition. More …