Volunteers Put Service Into Action

By Pamela Schmid

To John Pfaff’s reckoning, there’s a tangible difference between writing a check to a local charity and donating one’s time, labor and know-how to one.

“It’s the difference between going to a place and buying a table or going to a workshop and building it yourself,” he said. “There’s more of a sense of accomplishment there.”

Pfaff, 68, of Burnsville, is among a small team of volunteers who organize events for AARP Serves, an initiative that brings AARP Minnesota’s staff, volunteers and members together to support local nonprofits. Past service events have included packaging events at local food shelves, repairing donated bikes to give away at the holidays, and sorting sheets and blankets for families transitioning out of homelessness.

AARP Serves is a way to “harness the energy and reach of our members,” said Jay Haapala, AARP Minnesota community outreach director.

“Our members are 50 and older, and that’s an age group of people interested in giving back to our local communities and helping their neighbors and finding ways to use their skills and passions.”

Last June, 27 AARP members spent two hours in the warehouse and sorting rooms at the Bloomington location of Bridging, a nonprofit furniture bank. Along with sorting and inspecting donated sheets and other household items, volunteers washed and bundled donated silverware. Another volunteer event at Bridging is planned for May 25. To learn more, go to aarp.org/mn or call 877-926-8300 toll-free.


Reaching out statewide
Bridging, which also has a Roseville warehouse, counts heavily on its volunteers, whose annual donated hours equate to 37 full-time positions, supplementing 30 paid ones, said Diana Dalsin, the organization’s community relations manager.

Bringing AARP members and other volunteers to the warehouses serves the group’s short-term goals of getting immediate help, she said, but also serves a larger purpose. “The intention is to expose them to us,” Dalsin said. “We have a wide variety of volunteer options.”

Pfaff, retired from a management consulting career, is using his skills to set up volunteer opportunities around the Twin Cities. An avid cyclist, he proposed a group event last year to benefit Free Bikes 4 Kidz, a nonprofit that refurbishes and donates gently used bikes to children. He then organized the event last October at Mall of America, where 16 AARP members served as bicycle cleaners, preppers and tuners.

AARP Serves benefits from the reach of AARP Minnesota, which can use its resources to forge connections and get the word out.

AARP is branching out beyond the Twin Cities for its service events. In Rochester, members were invited to prepare food for distribution at a March event at Channel One Regional Food Bank, southeastern Minnesota’s largest hunger-relief agency.

“People can give financial gifts, but what a lot of people have is the gift of their time,” said Jennifer Woodford, Channel One executive director. “It is so valuable for us when they help us do this work.”

Another AARP initiative is Create the Good, a nationwide database that helps match volunteers with organizations and community needs. Although it is spearheaded by AARP, “anybody can tap into it,” Haapala said.

Pamela Schmid is a writer living in St. Paul.