Volunteer Advocates Go One-on-One

By Pamela Schmid

When Vikki Casey Steward signed up to be an advocate for AARP Minnesota three years ago, she had “no idea the potential for impact the role offered beyond, for example, working the booth at the State Fair.”

Instead, two weeks after signing up, Steward, 62, of Eden Prairie, found herself at the state Capitol, meeting with her state senator and representative.

Soon after that, she met with her U.S. representative, Republican Erik Paulsen.

“He was very receptive; it didn’t matter what we brought up,” Steward recalled. “This is what people don’t necessarily know: Our representatives are genuinely interested in what people think and care about and want to hear from them.”

In each of Minnesota’s eight congressional districts, AARP volunteers have developed relationships with members of Congress and their district office staff. AARP leaders say such connections are invaluable as President Trump and Congress make decisions on the future of Medicare, Social Security, the Affordable Care Act and other important issues.

“Social Security and Medicare directly affect our membership and the people we represent,” said Sheryl Ramstad, 67, of St. Paul, a member of the AARP Minnesota Executive Council. “These are bread-and-butter, life-and-death matters.”

Steward said she initially became an AARP advocate to help her aging parents, focusing on health care and supporting family caregivers.

She has met four times with Paulsen at his Eden Prairie office. Steward and other advocates lobbied him on the RAISE Act, a proposal that seeks to develop a national strategy for supporting family caregivers. Paulsen agreed to become a cosponsor.

“I have the opportunity to make a difference in senior citizens’ lives, and I never would have believed the amount of influence and potential for just one volunteer,” Steward said.

Meeting one-on-one cuts through partisan politics, said Erin Parrish, AARP Minnesota associate state director for advocacy and outreach. “It’s about how real people are impacted by policy. If they’re able to share that, it’s incredibly important.”

Constituent Visits Count
Paulsen, a Republican in his fifth term and a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, said listening to a personal story “is a lot more valuable than sitting down in front of a PowerPoint presentation and hearing numbers and facts.”

His office is inundated with about 700 emails daily, he said, but it’s the constituents who visit his office, show up at one of his Congress on Your Corner events or send handwritten letters who have the biggest impact “because someone’s taken the time to share their perspective.”

“It’s important to hear from people now,” Paulsen added, “because change is coming.”

Advocates for AARP hail from diverse backgrounds. Ramstad is a former judge and the sister of former U.S. Rep. Jim Ramstad (R). Steward is a retired account manager for a large pharmaceutical company. Some worked blue-collar jobs. All are passionate about issues affecting older Americans, Parrish said.

AARP offers new volunteers online or in-person training to help them feel more comfortable making calls or attending meetings. “Our main goal is helping them develop that relationship,” Parrish said.

To learn more about becoming a volunteer advocate, contact Parrish at eparrish@aarp.org or 651-726-5644.

Pamela Schmid is a writer living in St. Paul.