MARSHALL — An organization focused on senior citizens and caregivers saw growth in Lyon County over the past year, representatives for A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota said last week.

In Lyon County, A.C.E. volunteers provided more than 35,000 hours of service in 2025, said county program manager Jane Nelson Como. Como said that number was up from a total of about 23,000 volunteer hours in 2024.

A.C.E. (Advocate Connect Educate) of Southwest Minnesota provides health and wellness programs, caregiver services, and more for seniors in Lyon County, according to the organization’s 2025 annual report.

Last week, Como and A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota Executive director Michelle Baumhoefner spoke with Lyon County Commissioners and gave an annual report on the organization’s activities. A.C.E. is focused on volunteerism and active living programs for people age 55 and above. A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota covers an eight-county area.

“We just want to do an annual update, like we do each year, and reiterate the thanks and appreciation for your continued support of our programming here in southwest Minnesota,” Baumhoefner told commissioners.

Baumhoefner said A.C.E. partnered with a total of 399 different volunteer stations in the eight-county region last year. “We had a total of 3,293 volunteers that contributed 344,570 hours of service,” she said. “That’s the equivalent of more than 165 full-time jobs, if you divide that out by the hours per pay pay period, or 40 hours a week.”

In Lyon County, the total number of A.C.E. volunteers was up to 235 people, including volunteers working with UCAP transportation, the Kitchen Table Food Shelf, respite care and area senior centers and assisted living facilities. Volunteers worked a total of 35,442 hours in 2025, at 29 different locations, the annual report said.

In 2025, a little more than half of A.C.E.’s funding came from area counties. Other key funding sources included federal grants, and donations. Baumhoefner told county commissioners that their funding contribution to A.C.E. was a good investment for the county.

“Your financial support in 2025 was $74,711, and the work that Jane did would not have been possible without that financial contribution,” Baumhoefner said. “For every dollar that the county invested, your Lyon County A.C.E. volunteers produced $18.88 of community value.”

Some of the programs A.C.E. offers in Lyon County include volunteer opportunities through AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP, respite care and other caregiver services, and Alzheimer’s and dementia resources through the Marshall Area Dementia Awareness Network.

Baumhoefner said A.C.E. faced funding challenges last year, and those challenges haven’t gone away.

“Unfortunately we are still facing some of those exact same challenges, that threaten our ability to continue at the level of service we’ve been known to provide,” she said. Baumhoefner said A.C.E. was still waiting to hear on the status of an AmeriCorps Seniors RSVP grant it had applied for.

“We should have started that grant April 1, and we’re still waiting to hear whether we’ve been awarded it or not. They’re telling us it’ll be June before we find out,” she said.

The AmeriCorps grant had a “make or break” level of importance for A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota, Baumhoefner said. A.C.E. had some backup funds that it could use if they do not receive the grant, but the A.C.E. governing board would have to make some decisions on how the organization would proceed, she said.