Have you been searching for a volunteer activity that provides service to others and allows you to work on tasks with friends? Or do you prefer to work on tasks more independently? There’s a place for you in our work for retirees.

Over the next months of summer, UMRA will be getting organized for next year, and there will be several opportunities for you to get involved.

Two groups planning now for new directions are described below. Please make your interests and availability known.

New UMRA Newsletter needs writers and editors

Join a team that will be advancing our communications to serve retirees with an e-newsletter. Currently, getting the news out depends on the work of essentially two people—a newsletter editor and a website webmaster. Because this lean arrangement can be precarious as well as time-consuming, we are forming a volunteer “editorial board” to spread the planning, managing, and content-gathering tasks among several volunteers as we move into an electronic newsletter.

If you like to write, enjoy editing, or if you can assist with collecting incoming news, please join us. If you like the idea of an e-newsletter and want to help combine our website information with an e-news function, we need you!

This new endeavor is in the planning stages now. Let us know of your interest. Contact Ginny Hanson, newsletter editor, [email protected], or David Naumann, webmaster, [email protected].

The UMRA Cares Committee

In the process of reorganizing and expanding in new directions, the Cares group needs volunteers to help plan and develop a variety of initiatives to assist UMRA members.

The Cares Committee was first appointed in 2013 by President Ron Anderson to reach out to UMRA members and their families when a death or serious illness occurs. Condolence cards are also sent to non-member faculty and staff when we have the name and address of a surviving spouse/partner. Recently the committee’s focus has turned to finding resources for member concerns about health and aging through programs, workshops, and individual contacts.

If you are interested in assisting with this committee work, please contact Earl Nolting, 651-633-4333; [email protected], who will answer any questions you may have.

For information about working with these or any of the other UMRA committees, contact incoming president Chip Peterson, 651-699-4286 or [email protected].