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Volunteer
To kick off Older Americans
Month, Lt. Gov. Yvonne Prettner Solon announced
Tuesday, May 1, the launch of SHARE Minnesota,
part of the One Stop Shop for Minnesota Seniors
and administered through the Senior LinkAge Line®
and Minnesota Board on Aging. SHARE Minnesota is a
virtual network of agencies that can help find
volunteer opportunities for seniors who want to
volunteer but may not know where to go.
Lt. Governor Yvonne
Prettner Solon, “Minnesota seniors are living
longer, getting more from their lives and are
giving more to their communities. It is important
that we tap into the valuable resource and
expertise of older Minnesotans, and SHARE
Minnesota can help.”
Photos from
the launch (click on an image
to see a larger photo)
There are so many reasons to volunteer!
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You can develop a new
skill or learn a new hobby.
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Be a part of your
community.
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Meet new people.
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Accomplish a personal
sense of achievement.
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Be a community
leader.
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Transition into
retirement.
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Enhance your network
when transitioning to a new job.
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Inspire other people
with your passion.
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Find creative ways to
put your talent to work.
Call the Senior LinkAge Line
One Stop Shop for Minnesota Seniors® at
1-800-333-2433 to link to an expert who can help
you find the best way to volunteer.
Before you call
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Think about the
things you might be interested in and the number
of hours you can volunteer.
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Think about what
sparks your passion and what skills you might
have—be creative!
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Ask about
volunteering opportunities that may pay a
stipend and think about if this is something
you’d like more information about.
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Write down your
thoughts and then share with the call
specialist.
SHARE Minnesota materials
MN Seniors Receive National Awards
 Elden
Johnson, Health Insurance Counselor from Hallock, receives
MetLife Foundation Award for extraordinary volunteer work.
MetLife Foundation “Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards”
were presented on May 9, 2008 at the Ronald Reagan Building
and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. Met
Life in partnership with the National Association of Area
Agencies on Aging honored older volunteers who have made
exemplary contributions and provided outstanding service to
their communities.
Land
of the Dancing Sky Area Agency on Aging was proud
to have our volunteer, Elden Johnson, Hallock, MN
selected as a recipient of the Award. Elden
began volunteering as a Senior Surf presenter and
continues in this capacity, holding sessions at
area libraries and senior centers, teaching
seniors the basics of computer and internet use.
His knowledge of computers and his patient, gentle
style of teaching make him well-qualified for this
position and he gets rave reviews from his
students and library personnel.
Elden is also a state-certified Health Insurance
Counselor. One of his biggest areas of
contribution has been with the Medicare Part D
prescription drug program. His computer
expertise made him a natural to complete online
comparisons of drug plans, review the comparisons
with beneficiaries, and enroll them into their
selected plan. He was a “one stop shop”.
Elden has also been instrumental in organizing
medication management sessions at the Hallock
Senior Center. These sessions allow
individuals to have a one to one counseling
session with a licensed, specially trained
pharmacist to review their medications and insure
their current drug therapy is both safe and
effective.
This award was presented to Elden for his
volunteer work at Land of the Dancing Sky Area
Agency on Aging by Charles Pettigrew, Senior
Business Consultant MetLife Foundation. In
addition, he serves and volunteers in many other
ways in his community.
The Land of the Dancing Sky Area Agency on Aging
is a program of the Northwest Regional Development
Commission and serves 21 counties in Northern and
Western Minnesota. Our goal is to support
the dignity and independence of older persons.
Our State Health Insurance program and volunteers
provides high quality information and education to
assist Medicare beneficiaries with understanding
the basics of Medicare and choosing supplements,
Advantage plans, or Part D plans as well as
assisting with many other needs and areas of
concern for seniors.
Congratulations on this national award, Elden, and
thank you for your service and impact on others
and your community.
Betty Johnson, Cushing, MN, honored by the
U.S. Department Administration on Aging.
Betty Johnson recently
received a 2006 Outstanding Senior Volunteer Award
for empowering seniors to prevent healthcare
fraud. This award was given to her at a ceremony
in Washington, DC in recognition of her
outstanding contribution to the Senior Medicare
Patrol program. She was one out of 11 in the
country to receive the honor.
Betty, a dedicated volunteer of the SMP for the
past five years, became involved while caring for
her elderly mother and husband and trying to
understand the complexities of the many medical
bills and claims. Betty share that so many
older adults to not know or understand how to
navigate the system and she wanted them to know
there is help.
Working with SMP has taught her that errors are
not always fraud, but may have been a simple
coding error. She shared, "It is important
to be able to learn how to detect abuse and fraud
or read a summary notice. Many agencies
would not give clear answers when I worked on this
for my husband. It got to the point that the
billing departments would not even talk to me
anymore. Who helps those isolated people who
have no one to advocate for them? That is
what the SMP is for, that is what makes it such a
valuable service for all."
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