ALVA Program at Inver Hills begins this fall

ALVA is a training and involvement program that focuses on preparing older adults and retirees to take on major volunteer and service projects that focus on needs important to them and their communities. The program will be offered this fall at Inver Hills (first session in October; inquire now!)

The ALVA initiative is offered by the Vital Aging Network, an organization with the mission to promote self-determination, community involvement, and personal enrichment for and with older adults through education and advocacy.

Dick Graham, a longtime community leader in Dakota County (including founding and leading DARTS), will be the facilitator of the Inver Hills ALVA offering. See his story below.

Participants in ALVA attend day-long sessions once a month (for eight months) identifying their skills and life experiences that they can apply in service opportunities. Exercises also include peer-to-peer learning, group discussion, presentations by community and business leaders, personal coaching, and a framework for developing a project or specialized effort.

For referral to ALVA staff and more information about enrolling, call 651-450-8578.

Leading by example: Dick Graham

Dick Graham

After a forty-year career in non-profit management (which included founding and leading DARTS), Dick Graham is creating an "encore career" every bit as rewarding as his previous work. He now uses his time and experience, in new ways, to create a mix of paid and unpaid work.  Graham established Elderwise Consulting, along with Kevin Fox and associates, to bring the talents of other retirees to assist organizations with marketing and management issues. He spends a day a week at The Father Project in Minneapolis, with young dads working to complete their GEDs. He is active in his home community of Hastings helping to establish The Hastings Democracy Project and a new arts commission.  "There is still time for an active family life, gardening, travel and sitting on the porch," says Graham.

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Vital Aging Network

The mission of the Vital Aging Network is to promote
self-determination, community involvment, and personal enrichment for and with older adults through education and advocacy.

Visit www.vital-aging-network.org