035 Kathy Hannen–State Health Insurance-Assistance Program (SHIP)
A SHIP to Help You Navigate Medicare—for Free!
Kathy Hannen is a volunteer for the State Health Insurance-Assistance Program (SHIP), which is a free health-benefits counseling service for Medicare beneficiaries and their families or caregivers. SHIP’s mission is to educate, advocate, counsel, and empower people to make informed healthcare benefit decisions. SHIP is an independent program funded by federal agencies and is not affiliated with the insurance industry.
If you are on Medicare, check the back of your Medicare book for your state’s contact information. Not yet enrolled? Use the link below. Volunteers are readily available to assist you. They’ll require some information from you, such as the medications you are currently taking, in order to identify the different plans that might fit your needs.
Or look for a SHIP event in your community. People eligible for Medicare can often attend a “Medicare Monday” workshop and learn about options for healthcare the coming year. The service is free and staffed by knowledgeable and compassionate volunteers like Kathy.
The State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) Website: www.seniorsresourceguide.com/directories/National/SHIP/.
For more about coming podcasts, sign up for Ed’s free Retire-To newsletter: retire-to.com/ed-s-newsletter and visit retiretovolunteering.com.
034 Sam Bowman—Brethren Volunteer Service
Brethren Volunteer Service—For Those Wanting a Life Adventure
Brethren Volunteer Service places volunteers in a six-month, one-, or two-year assignment in the United States and around the world, focusing on peace, justice, service to those in need, and care for creation. This Church of the Brethren ministry, which has been active since 1948, is open to all persons regardless of their faith tradition and even to those who claim no religious tradition. The program served as a model for the development of the Peace Corps. Older adults are especially welcome.
Sam Bowman, who has served in two very different assignments, values especially the three-week orientation that helps volunteers discern where their passion, call, skills, and desire to grow fit with the “hundred” opportunities that the Brethren Volunteer Service coordinates. Sam matched his own farm background and interest in the outdoors with an assignment to a camping program for people with disabilities.
In a second assignment, Sam has worked with the three-week orientation events, which are held three times a year in various parts of the country. That experience has given him a wealth of stories and an appreciation for the “adventure of a lifetime” that volunteers discover as they find their place helping a world in need.
For more information, visit http://www.brethren.org/bvs/.
For more about coming podcasts, sign up for Ed’s free Retire-To newsletter: retire-to.com/ed-s-newsletter and visit retiretovolunteering.com.
033 Kay Gray–Room in the Inn
There is Room in the Inn!
Room in the Inn (RITI) was formed when four congregations started working together in 1986 to shelter homeless people during the coldest months. Now nearly 190 congregations in Middle Tennessee provide safe haven overnight to nearly 1,400 men and women November through March. The rest of the year the organization offers emergency services, transitional support, and long-term solutions to help these people rebuild their lives.
West End United Methodist Church in Nashville is one of the participating congregations. Kay Gray and her husband, Buddy DeFord, coordinate Room in the Inn at that location. Kay speaks highly of the service through the winter months at her church. She says, “I sleep better at night knowing I’m doing some little something to help those who otherwise would have to sleep out on park benches.”
Retiring after 37 years as a pastor herself, Kay also knows the importance of inviting others to serve. Room in the Inn is a ministry that can use the time, talents, and caring of many people at whatever level they are able to help. To paraphrase a proverb: “It takes a congregation...”!
Information about Room In The Inn can be found at www.roomintheinn.org.
For more about coming podcasts, sign up for Ed’s free Retire-To newsletter: retire-to.com/ed-s-newsletter and visit retiretovolunteering.com.
032 Crys Zinkiewicz – Saddle Up!
Horsing Around–Good for Kids and Volunteers
“Mom, go ride your horse—you’ll be a nicer person!” For years, family members knew the value of horseback riding for Crys Zinkiewicz. Being outside, with her horse, riding with friends, having fun—all added up to a calmer, stronger, happier Mom. When she retired, Crys followed her passion for horses to Saddle Up!, a therapeutic riding center for children with disabilities.
“I didn’t know much about kids with special needs,” she admits, “but I knew I could clean stalls if nothing else. However, the training at Saddle Up! gave me the confidence I needed. My nine years as a volunteer there have been wonderful. I know how being with horses has helped me through the years, and now I also see the ‘magic’ they work again and again with the children.
”Saddle Up! has been helping children for more than 25 years. Starting with only ten children, four borrowed horses, and four volunteers, the program now regularly serves more than 250 children each year. To do so takes 500 volunteers! Horse experience is not required. Neither is experience with children with disabilities. A wide variety of volunteer opportunities, with varying time commitments, excellent training, and continuing support for volunteers make Saddle Up! a great place to give back.
For more about Saddle Up! visit saddleupnashville.org.
For more about coming podcasts, sign up for Ed’s free Retire-To newsletter: retire-to.com/ed-s-newsletter and visit retiretovolunteering.com.