Jefferson City AARP Chapter staffs exhibit at major state event

Delegates to the Missouri Institute on Minority Aging statewide conference found plenty of helpful materials at an AARP exhibit there, thanks to a collaborative effort between the AARP Missouri state office and the Jefferson City AARP Chapter #4401.

Volunteers for the Capital City's chapter staffed the exhibit for two days in Columbia and distributed scores of AARP booklets, fact sheets, and other useful give aways provided by the AARP Missouri state office.

Chapter volunteers also distributed Vial of Life personal medical information kits that are an ongoing community service project the chapter has conducted for several years with Whaley's Pharmacy in Jefferson City.

The Columbia conference drew about 150 people statewide. It was sponsored by the Paula J. Carter Center on Minority Health and Aging under Lincoln University's Cooperative Extension. This year was the 17th annual event, and utilized the theme "Aging Artistically."

Charlotte Wening, chapter president, reported that most of the people visiting the AARP table between sessions and regular breaks indicated they were either members of AARP or were very familiar with its purpose.

"Conference organizers gave each delegate a vendor scavenger hunt which included a question about which organization works to enrich the lives of people over 50," Wening said. "Of the nearly 80 people who stopped by, virtually everyone readily identified AARP as the organization that advocates for older people.”

Charlotte Wening, Jefferson City AARP Chapter 4401 president, provides Vial of Life medical information kits and AARP materials to Missouri Institute on Minority Aging delegates Pamela Donner, Lincoln University, and Bettye Pulley, Caruthersville