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While the Hewitt family can usually be found in the great outdoors, especially skiing and snowboarding in Colorado this time of year, the pandemic has found them in front of their computer more than ever. Thus with pride, Dick Hewitt and his wife, Patt Hewitt, are self-proclaimed GetSetUp junkies and Priority Health members. They can't seem to get enough of the great learning and socialization opportunities on GetSetUp.

“GetSetUp is a young and new organization and what a wonderful organization. From classes to social interaction  - wow it has just such a repertoire! We were able to take classes from an Australian Guide. Can you imagine I’m taking a class today at night here being taught tomorrow morning there!”

Dick is no stranger to community participation and service. As a 60 year veteran of Boy Scouts of America, he’s on his third generation of leading Scouts toward becoming Eagle Scouts. He also works as a Volunteer for the American Diabetes Association and is the Diabetic Advocate Chairman. Then, baseball season finds him helping the Detroit Tigers Fantasy Camp program. His latest endeavor is working with his local congregation, the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, and the Portage (MI) Senior Center to assist older adults who are hesitant to use technology. The plan is to train these adults in person. He will show them skills like WebEx and Zoom. Then as a bonus, he will show them all the great things they can do with these skills and GetSetUp!

Dick has loved participating in GetSetUp classes so far,

“They are wonderful and so far have been seamless!”

Plus he was lucky to get his vaccine early. Now he helps others on GetSetUp sharing his local experience as a volunteer in the vaccine information sessions.

“My wife and I got our vaccine very early on through the Bronson Healthcare System and it was seamless. Unfortunately, there is a lot of resentment and animosity and from those who are having issues getting vaccinated. There seems to be a growing frustration.”

GetSetUp is doing what they can to offer confidence to older adults in navigating sites and giving older adults a space to share tips with locals for getting the vaccine. Some people find the resources helpful or learn something new they haven’t tried yet.

The Hewitts live 10 minutes from where the vaccines are shipped out. However, the nurse giving them the shot said it probably traveled 3,000 miles to get to the clinic, even though they were a mere 200 yards from the manufacturing plant shipping docks.

“I think GetSetUp’s idea to break down information by state and county to county is great. Distribution really varies in each community and based on geography. I hear in the UP (Upper Peninsula) of Michigan you can walk into a pharmacy and get inoculated even at 18.”

GetSetUp information sessions aren’t just about going over the website; it’s also about sharing experiences from locals in your area.

“I think it's helpful to share together. There is a concern about getting vaccinated and these sessions may help people get through that. I still remember when we were in elementary school we all went through the polio vaccine. I see statistics it just floors me that upwards of 40% of adults are anticipated to resist vaccination. But Dr. Tony Fauci (NIAD Directory)  says 70-80% is needed for herd immunity. Therefore, part of the importance of these sessions is sharing experiences. I got inoculated and I don’t have side effects." then jokingly he adds, "My hair fell out before the inoculation."

Thanks to Dick’s help volunteering and sharing his experiences he’s helped a number of Michigander’s get vaccinated.

"I want people to know from my experience it's safe to get vaccinated. Down the road, we don’t know if there will be variations but this is putting your seatbelt on cause you don’t know what’s coming.”

Moving forward with GetSetUp

Considering his Bachelor's in Social Work and Master's in Psychology and Counseling, Dick has a wide breadth of information to share with others. Now he is able to bring that to GetSetUp sessions ever since he first heard in his congregation about GetSetUp and the MDHSS partnership that provided free classes for all Michigan residents.

“It’s opened a whole new world to one of our church members who is bed-bound. She loves participating, even watching the dance events if she can’t participate herself is fun she said.”

Dick’s first class was how to create playlists. Then he continued to take quite a few classes on topics like Excel, photos, and Instagram.

“When you repeat a class you can pick up 1 or 2 things you didn't know again,” which is why Dick likes to repeat some classes.  

Plus with over 175 classes to choose from and regular new classes, there is lots to do on GetSetUp.

Join Dick and other passionate learners to share and learn about your interests on GetSetUp!

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