FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE:
September 8, 2009
CONTACT:
Kim Rymer
Communications Director
Volunteers of America-Minnesota
Office 952-945-4074, Cell 612-267-7622, Email krymer@voamn.org
Five Staff at Volunteers of America-Minnesota Receive Scholarships to
Complete Certificate in Aging Program
(Minneapolis, September 8) – Five staff at Volunteers of America-Minnesota recently received full scholarships from the Alliance for Children and Families to complete the Certificate in Aging program of the Boston University School of Social Work's Institute of Geriatric Social Work (IGSW). The individuals who received scholarships are as follows:
- Angie Akenson, Licensed Social Worker, High Rise Social Services Program
- Scott Fridley, Human Services Specialist II, High Rise Social Services Program
- Patricia Jones, Community Outreach Worker-Senior Services, Park ElderCenter
- Rhonda Peterson, Licensed Social Worker, High Rise Social Services Program
- Dorothy Wilson, Family Caregiver Consultant, Senior Services
The $500 scholarships cover all expenses toward the completion of a Certificate in Aging. Over the next year, scholarship recipients will participate in five self-paced, interactive online courses that provide the core foundation of knowledge and skills in the growing field of aging.
IGSW’s Certificate in Aging program helps human service professionals learn to appropriately and effectively assist older adults and their families.
The Alliance, a national membership association of nonprofit human service providers, is making this professional development opportunity available through its New Age of Aging initiative, which is designed to help prepare human service organizations throughout North America to best provide services for older adults as the vast baby boom generation ages. Many of these services will likely come from community-based nonprofit human service providers, such as Volunteers of America-Minnesota.
About Volunteers of America
Volunteers of America - Minnesota is a nonprofit organization founded in 1896 which offers a wide variety of services to more than 27,000 children, adolescents and their families, students, older adults, persons with disabilities and special needs, and ex-offenders each year. It is one of the oldest, largest and most comprehensive human service organizations in the state and has more than 60 programs, 900 employees and 4,000 volunteers. Volunteers of America has a rich history of developing innovative, quality programs to meet emerging social issues and prides itself on sponsoring programs which are able to articulate explicitly the outcomes achieved in its program participants' lives. For more information about Volunteers of America of Minnesota, visit www.voamn.org, or call (952) 945-4000.
About The Alliance for Children and Families
The Alliance for Children and Families, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2011, is a national membership association of nonprofit human service providers in the United States and Canada. Motivated by a vision of a healthy society and strong communities, the Alliance strengthens the capacities of North America’s nonprofit child- and family-serving organizations to serve and advocate for children, families, and communities. More information on the Alliance is available at alliance1.org. For more information on the New Age of Aging initiative, go to newageofaging.org, or contact Jonette Arms, project director, at jarms@alliance1.org or 800-221-3726, ext. 6523.
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