UC San Francisco Retirement Association Report
October 2021 Report
Submitted by Sandra Norberg, President and CUCRA Representative
- UCSFRA Membership: This continues to be a difficult year for membership. Because the New Retiree Fair again was virtual, we were unable to secure email addresses of the new retirees who normally attended the in-person event. In addition, volunteers were not able to come into UCSF to do the mailings normally sent out to all retirees. Currently we have 549 paid members and 2216 contacts, many of which do not include email address.
- Monthly Activities for Members: Our Program Committee has met recently to plan events for the upcoming months, but so far only one has taken place: a historical tour of Stow Lake, boat rides, and lunch (the hot dogs and the tour were great!). We had planned an outdoor picnic for September, but because of the UC restriction on serving food and the number of people allowed in a gathering, we had to cancel. Even though the museums and other venues are open, they are not ready to resume their tours and activities.
- Volunteer Activities: These programs have been put on hold.
- Educational Programs: We continue to partner with the UC Berkeley Retirement Center to offer virtual monthly programs, which have been very popular and well attended - sometimes up to 700 retirees from UCB & UCSF. We have been able to take advantage of the expertise on both campuses in recruiting speakers and in selecting topics. The most recent topics include: "Cybersecurity", "Muscle Loss in Older Adults", and "The New Deal in Washington". We tried something different, which was a cooking series put on by a professional chef: one session on salads, the second on main courses, and the third on desserts. It was fun and very popular.
- UCSF New Retiree Welcome Fair: This is normally our most successful and well attended event, and this year, for the second time, we held a virtual fair. Although attendance was down, even from last year's virtual event, it went off well. Hopefully next year the fair can be in person, especially since we've decided this is an event that doesn't work well virtually.
- UCSFRA Clubs and Interest Groups: We continue to sponsor a number of interest groups, many of which did not meet during the past year. Our Hiking Group resumed their hikes at the end of last year, and now the number is no longer limited, and masks are not required. We're looking forward to the further loosening of restrictions but are following the UCSF guidelines.
- UCSFRA Virtual Luncheons: We held another virtual luncheon in the Spring and added something new: a spotlight on one of our retirees, who is a wildlife photographer. He was able to share his photographs, mostly taken at Stow Lake in Golden Gate where the herons were nesting. We also gave out our Frances Larragueta award, which recognizes individuals who have performed exceptional voluntary service, to two individuals (having missed being able to present the award the previous spring). In December we hope to have an in-person luncheon with a limited number of retirees (49) who must be vaccinated. Hopefully, UCSF retirees will be willing to come out for this event.