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“If you planted hope today in any hopeless heart,

If someone’s burden was lighter because you did your part,

If you caused a laugh that chased a tear away,

If tonight your name is mentioned when someone kneels to pray,

Then your day was well spent.”

This is the saying that hangs near Nancy Donahue’s desk in her office at the Mower County Senior Center. She has spent almost 35 years in her role “to inform and assist” as a Senior Advocate.

She helps with whatever is needed to ensure her clients have a good quality of life.  The largest number of questions she works on have to do with Medicare and other insurance and financial matters. Nancy also has information about the many other services available to seniors, including assistance with food, housing, utilities, heat, and health care. Help with the complicated application process is part of her service.  She notes some seniors don’t have computers or computer skills and so they need help navigating the information available online.

Advice to seniors and their families about their wishes about medical care and end-of-life issues is another area of Nancy’s advocacy. In all these areas, if she doesn’t know the answers, she does her best to seek out someone who does.

Twice a month Nancy holds a caregivers support group meeting. This is an important time for caregivers to receive support and to support one another.  She tells the caregivers, “Your person is being very well cared for, but who is taking care of you?!”  Respite care for a loved one to help the caregiver to attend these sessions can be arranged.

Nancy’s assistance is free to the clients, but donations are accepted.  The program is funded by United Way of Mower County, and Southeast Minnesota Area Agency grants.  Eight hundred and fifty clients county-wide are helped by this program each year.

Nancy’s sincere caring and impressive knowledge and experience are evident as she talks about her work. As a senior herself, and a widow, she brings personal experience to her role, making her a very authentic advocate. Anyone would find it easy to trust her with their personal situation. And any out-of-town relatives, trying to navigate the system to arrange care for their Mower County relative, must find Nancy a Godsend.

Of her work, Nancy says, “The fact that I can relieve stress and worry for someone is a great reward.  I get as much out of our encounters as do the people I help.”

She attributes her ability to continue her work to the wonderful support she gets  from her family, her friends and the community.

“Early in my life I wanted to save the world,” she said. “Wisdom of age tells me I can’t. But I can do my part.”

Mower County seniors owe a great debt to Nancy Donahue for all her advocacy.

For more information about the Austin Branch of AAUW, contact Sue Grove  sue.grove@riverland.edu  or Carolyn Bogott  csbogott@gmail.com.  The American Association of University Women, now AAUW, is open to anyone who has completed a two-year degree or beyond.  AAUW welcomes men who support our objectives and there are student memberships available. AAUW has been empowering women since 1881.  We support equity and education for women.  Scholarships are offered, as well as help in litigation in cases dealing with sex discrimination.  We are the most important and highly respected research and lobbying organization dealing with women’s issues such as equal opportunity and job equality.