Newsletter of the Vital Aging Network--
celebrating 20 years of service and education!
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In this edition
- Is 2022 your year to volunteer? (Many opportunities await!)
- Remembering Betty
- Aging with Gusto update (Look for the "Save the Date" announcement)
- Wellness 50+ update
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A new year is a great time to talk about volunteering
Volunteer and thrive
by Warren Wolfe
Warren Wolfe served as a reporter for the Star Tribune for more than 40 years. He and his wife are graduates of VAN's Evolve program, and he is very involved in organizations focused on aging across our community. He lives in Roseville.
There’s plenty of research that makes this clear: When you volunteer, you improve the quality – and maybe even the length – of your life.
Successful aging is a process of continuing to do what you’ve done since birth, adapting to change. The need doesn’t diminish as you grow older. The tools include staying physically and mentally active, eating a healthy diet, cultivating friendships, and staying engaged with the people and world around you.
A good friend turned 94 recently. His wife died a few years ago, and he talked about how it’s been harder during the COVID-19 pandemic to stay engaged with people in his senior living complex when residents couldn’t have visitors, not even each other.
“It’s harder, but you have to do it. If you want to be happy, you have to find reasons to get up in the morning, to have a purpose in living,” he said at a church men’s group meeting recently – one of his many activities. “I know volunteer stuff keeps me moving, but it also just makes me feel good, like I still matter.”
He also donates blood and has organized blood drives at his church, walks and works out regularly, sings in a choir where he lives and escorts a man with early dementia to the practices, “meets” regularly through his computer with his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids, and has been mentoring fellow residents who seem to be withering under the pandemic.
My friend illustrates how volunteerism can be a combination of helping agencies that do good work, and simply being a good friend and neighbor.
Looking for a place to start? You can look for opportunities at churches, libraries, community centers, nursing homes, child-care centers, food shelves and other nonprofits. Many offer a range of opportunities matching your skills, with flexible hours and commitments.
Or you can do a computer search for volunteer opportunities in your community. Here are two websites that can help:
Editor's note: Below, find information about Susan Maples' volunteer experience and about how you can volunteer for other engaging projects
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Opportunity strikes again!
By VAN member and Aging with Gusto Facilitator Susan Maples
VAN's Susan Maples found a new way to be active and involved by reading an online newsletter. Here's her story.
Recently, that newsletter published an article on Alive Ventures (AV)
www.aliveventures.co The article encouraged people over 60 to apply for membership in their Elder Advisory Committee (EAC)
https://www.aliveventures.co/eac .
The EAC meets regularly to share later life experiences and provide feedback on products and services designed to enhance the joys of living longer.
I took the leap at age 77 and decided to apply!
As a result, I was one of 29 folks selected from a field of 101 from across the country to join Alive Adventure’s team as a member of EAC. Alive Adventure is “united around a mission to design a future we all want to age into” by helping to create beautifully designed products and services that enrich later life for current and future generations.
Our cohort focused on the values of love, work, vitality and friendship. We met weekly, generally for an hour (via Zoom), for 9 weeks from October 8-December 10. We shared our thoughts, ideas, reactions and experiences with each other, Alive Ventures’ staff, and their resident entrepreneurs.
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New Opportunity to Support Afghan Refugees in Minnesota: March-June, 2022
ServeMinnesota is seeking individuals to serve as AmeriCorps members as part of their Refugee Response Initiative. In this initiative, AmeriCorps members are needed to help Afghan refugees in temporary housing. They will provide short-term service – from March to June – as individuals and families transition to their new communities. Those working primarily with adults will assist with community orientation classes and help them navigate available services (housing, food, medical, legal, etc.). Members are also needed to provide structured activities for children and youth (ages 0-18) at the temporary housing site.
Full-time and part-time opportunities are available with flexible shifts every day between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Training will begin in February and March. People with language skills in Dari or Pashto are strongly encouraged to apply.
Individuals, 18 and older, who serve with the Refugee Response Initiative will receive a living stipend, health benefits and an education award that can be used for tuition or student loan repayment. Positions will be paid the equivalent of $15 per hour (AmeriCorps members receive a fixed living allowance every two weeks based on their total number of hours served).
There are also one-time volunteer opportunities. You could meet families at the airport or accompany them to see potential housing. Anyone who wants to learn more about supporting the Refugee Response Initiative is encouraged to fill out an interest form at www.serveminnesota.org/refugee.
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Help a child in your community through Kids 'N Kinship
This month is National Mentoring Month and Kids 'N Kinship is celebrating its 50th year of connecting mentors and mentees! We are actively looking for Volunteer Mentors who want to make a difference in a child's life! For more information, go to kidsnkinship.org, or contact Rachel Engstrom at volunteer@kidsnkinship.org or 952-303-2822.
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There's also a pen pal program! |
The Kids ‘n Kinship Pen Pal program is a new program to support the children currently waiting for a mentor. The Pen Pal program is ideal for 18+ year old volunteers who:
- Wish to support children in a unique way, to reduce youth’s feeling of isolation and loneliness.
- Would like a volunteer project to do from home.
- May not be able to make the time commitment (1 year, meeting weekly) it takes to be a mentor in the program.
Interested? Contact Rachel Engstrom
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Have you considered a paid position that benefits elders?
Northeast Youth & Family Services (NYFS) is a community-based, trauma-informed mental health and human service agency serving the northeast metro for 45 years.
NYFS is thrilled to announce that it is expanding its long-established Senior Chore Program in 2022 thanks to a grant from Trellis.
The new NYFS Elder Services Program will provide Chore, Homemaker, Telephone Reassurance, Visiting and Consultation services.
Our service area includes 15 municipalities in the northeast metro - mostly within suburban Ramsey County.
We are recruiting for two new positions to help with the expansion: Elder Services Coordinator and Elder Advocate. (Check the links for more detail about these positions.
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Remembering Betty White
Everyone, it seems, was talking about their memories of Betty White when she died last year just short of her 100th birthday.
VAN's Aging with Gusto Coordinator Donna Comer shared this story about the lessons Betty White's life can teach us. It was first published by the Encore Boston Network. Read the story here.
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Notes from Aging with Gusto (AWG) |
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What is Aging with Gusto?
The Aging with Gusto Series offers a three-session discussion series, currently only online. The discussions are led by trained facilitators and offer plenty of time for participants to engage and learn from one another.
The purpose of these sessions is to:
- Encourage more positive views of aging.
- Increase awareness of ageism and its impact
- Learn to maintain well-being and manage challenges as we age.
- Develop ideas for how to age with gusto.
What's happening now? Currently, AWG is planning a series of Train the Facilitator workshops for agencies in Northern Minnesota. They will take place in late January and February and will prepare other volunteers and professionals to bring the Aging with Gusto program to new audiences.
Save the date: Combatting Ageism Virtual Forum
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Who: co-sponsored by The Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging and Aging with Gusto, a program of The Vital Aging Network
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What: This interactive workshop helps participants identify ageism and combat ageism in their work and personal lives. (2 hours/ 2 CEUs)
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When: Thursday, March 24, 2022, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
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Where: This workshop will be virtual via Zoom.
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How: Watch the February VAN eBulletin for more information and a registration link.
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Do you have questions about hosting an Aging with GUSTO series or an Ageism Workshop?
Please contact: Donna Comer, Aging with Gusto Coordinator, at donnajmcomer@gmail.com or by phone at 763-226-4729.
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Cottage Grove - Forest Lake - Oakdale - Stillwater - Woodbury
Phillips Neighborhood
What is Wellness 50+?
Wellness 50+ has active teams in Washington County (Cottage Grove, Forest Lake, Oakdale, Stillwater and Woodbury). It also has a team in the Minneapolis Phillips neighborhood. Its purpose is to promote health and wellness in those communities. Wellness 50+ teams plan and facilitate activities that include walking groups, healthy cooking classes, book clubs, recipe sharing and more.
Click here to learn more about Wellness 50+ goals and strategies.
Here are some Wellness 50+ activities scheduled soon!
- January 26 from 1-3 p.m.--Learn how to use your smart phone. In person at Basic Needs, 445 Broadway Ave, St. Paul Park
- Feb 1 from 10 a.m. to noon--Snowshoeing at Cottage Grove Ravine Park
- Feb 23 How to use Facebook by posting on Marketplace--in person at Basic needs, 445 Broadway Ave., St. Paul Park
To learn more, join Meetup (https://www.meetup.com/Wellness50-TwinCities. See more information in the Meetup article below)*. When the registration pages for these events are posted on Meetup, you will receive an e-mail notice.
A note about Wellness 50+ Phillips
The Minneapolis Phillips Wellness 50+ group paused activities for much of the pandemic. But Phillips is back! From August through December, the group meet twice monthly at the Ebenezer Towers. Recently, the group decided to pause again until the Omicron variant of COVID 19 subsides a bit.
Be sure to watch future editions of the e-Bulletin for news about Phillips Wellness 50+ activities and events.
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*Wellness 50+ streamlines its Meetup presence
In recent years VAN's Wellness 50+ program has used the Meetup platform (www.meetup.com) to promote and take registrations for its wellness activities programs. In the past, it maintained three Meetup sites: North Washington County, South Washington County, and Central Washington County.
Now Wellness 50+ is combining the existing three Meetup groups into a single group. The single site will be known as the Wellness 50+ Twin Cities group.
You can use the link below to visit the Wellness 50+ Twin Cities group. It's where you'll find biking, kayaking and Wellness 50+'s other First Tuesday events.
Please join the Twin Cities group if you are interested in participating. Joining will add you to our e-mail list for information about additional Wellness 50+ events.
Here's the link. Use it to sign up for the group and to receive more information about Wellness 50+ events.
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For more information about VAN's Wellness 50+ program
or e-mail: wellness50mn@gmail.com
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