Staff with the Great River Faith In Action organization held a Volunteer and Thank You Night event Tuesday at the old auditorium in Becker High School.

 

The event was to introduce people to the GRFIA staff and to celebrate all the volunteers who have made the organization viable and productive.

 

It was also a chance for people to learn more about  new Executive Director, Curtis Hed, who introduced himself and talked about his history and how he feels GRFIA will continue to grow.

 

Hed replaces Consuelo Silbernagel, who resigned the position a few months ago due to other obligations. Hed has been on the GRFIA Board of Directors and was asked if he’d assume the role and he accepted.

 

Tuesday’s event featured a 30-minute presentation followed by 30 minutes of sharing. Staff was identified as well as board members. Several volunteers were present and thanked GRFIA  for all they do.  

 

Refreshments of punch and cookies was also served.

 

The goal of GRFIA is to strengthen the communities it serves one caring relationship at a time. Their biggest needs are financial help and volunteerism.

 

In the bulletin posted for the event, GRFIA says, “In the coming years, aging Americans will need more help and more volunteers to help off-set the cost of care so they can stay at home as long as they possibly can.”

 

“The number of people 65 and older in the U.S. is expected to increase to 55 million in 2020; to some 70 million by 2030 and 88.5 or 20% of the population by 2050. Put in another way, between 2006 and 2030, the U.S. population of adults aged 65+ will nearly double from 37 million to 71.5 million.