Needed: A Few Good 'Yoopers'

By Melissa Preddy

The goal seems modest: Find new members and at least one AARP volunteer for each of the 15 counties in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula.

But Sally and Jimmy Bruce, two avid volunteers in Escanaba, know that finding 15 willing helpers presents quite a challenge. For more than a decade, they have been the UP’s only state-designated AARP volunteers.

They’ve started putting out the word and are up to four volunteers in Escanaba and one in Iron Mountain, all west of the Mackinac Bridge, but more are needed.

To highlight the needs of mature “Yoopers,” including the state’s Native American population, the Bruces lobbied the AARP Michigan Executive Council, a group of advisors who help develop state strategy, to hold its summer gathering this June at the Potawatomi Heritage Center in Hannahville.

The 16,000-odd square miles above the Straits of Mackinac are very rural, sparsely populated, beset by fierce weather much of the year and quite a bit grayer than Lower Michigan, as younger folks seek economic opportunities elsewhere.

Only 305,000 of Michigan’s nearly 10 million residents inhabit the UP, and their median age is 47, compared with 39 for the state.

“Many older adults are aging in place, even in very isolated areas,” said Patricia Cianciolo, a professor of social work at Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

The UP’s Keweenaw Peninsula, for example, which juts out into often-icy Lake Superior, is home to only about four people per square mile. That means resources and caregivers are spread thin, Cianciolo said.

‘A can-do kind of place’
“The formidable geography and a culture of independence often make it challenging even to be noticed as someone who needs services,” Cianciolo said. “Also, we have inward migration of retirees seeking lower cost of living—and they often are far away from family.

“Fortunately, the UP is a can-do kind of place and we have very forward-thinking folks as advocates for the aging.”

That’s where the Bruces come in. Sally, 72, draws on years of experience traveling the 300-mile breadth of the UP as an ombudsman for residents of long-term care facilities. Jimmy, also 72, taps skills developed in teaching and advocacy jobs, a stint as a bank executive and 50 years of starring roles in community theater to impart AARP’s message.

“I think we’ve been in every church basement in the area,” said Jimmy Bruce.

The couple, who met and married in Escanaba more than 50 years ago, have run activities ranging from fraud workshops and the free AARP-sponsored Movies for Grownups to Life Reimagined, a program for people looking for “what’s next.” For the innovative Taste of AARP, they recruited area restaurants and wineries to provide refreshments, then briefed attendees on AARP programs.

The volunteers they seek would perform similar outreach, with training and backup from the Bruces and the AARP state office. Anyone committing about 10 hours a month can make a big difference, Sally Bruce added.

The volunteers also meet regularly with state legislators to rally support for AARP Michigan’s legislative agenda.

Shirley Gollach, 62, of Escanaba, is one of the Bruces’ recruits. A veteran volunteer for the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program, she has also started working on community outreach.

“So many people don’t realize there are good resources out there,” she said. “We need to spread the word.”

To learn more about volunteering for AARP Michigan, contact program specialist Careena Eggleston at ceggleston@aarp.org or 517-267-8900.

Melissa Preddy is a writer living in Plymouth, Mich.