Bruce Bottorff

With one week to go before the federal tax filing deadline, AARP Foundation Tax-Aide is providing free tax preparation assistance at convenient locations across the state. AARP Tax-Aide is the nation’s largest free tax preparation service, with special attention to residents age 60 and older who have low-to-moderate incomes. You do not have to be a member of AARP or a retiree to take advantage of this free service.

AARP Hawaii and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are teaming up to hold an Encore Entrepreneur mentoring event at Kapolei Hale on Tuesday, April 29 (9 a.m. – noon). The event is free and open to the public and is designed to provide counseling, mentoring and training for people aged 50 and older who would like to start or grow a small business.

AARP is teaming up with organizations in the fight against fraud to offer public workshops in Honolulu, Waipahu and on Maui on April 2-3. The events will focus on common scams that rake in billions of dollars across the country, putting financial security at risk for millions of victims each year.

Elder advocates gathered at the state Capitol today to urge legislators to sign a pledge of support for Senate Bill 2264, also known as the CARE Act. The names of legislators who sign the Caregiver Champion pledge will be shared with AARP members across the state, as well as nearly a quarter million (247,000) family caregivers who provide care to loved ones throughout the year.

The youngest of Hawaii’s baby boomers (those born in 1964) turns 50 this year, joining the ranks of a generation searching for answers on how to achieve financial security and find personal fulfillment. Whether they’re focused on work, money, health, or discovering new possibilities in life, people at mid-life are looking for information that will help them reach their financial and personal goals.

On March 15 AARP Hawaii reached out by telephone to members across the state to talk about a bill before the state Legislature that would offer relief to family caregivers. Senate Bill 2264 – the CARE Act – would require hospitals to give caregivers the instruction they need to care for their loved ones when the patient is discharged.

AARP Hawaii sponsored a community workshop on caregiving and long-term care at the Maui Beach Hotel, Maui Lani Room, on Monday March 24. The featured speaker was Susan Reinhard, director of AARP’s Public Policy Institute and the author of a national study that challenges assumptions of the traditional role of family caregiving.

The director of AARP’s Public Policy Institute visited Kona on Tuesday, March 25 to speak at a free community event focusing on caregiving and long-term care at the King Kamehameha Kona Beach Hotel.

Elder advocates descended on the state Capitol Tuesday in support of Senate Bill 2264 – the CARE Act - in anticipation of a hearing by the House Health Committee. About 30 AARP volunteers met with House legislators to urge support of the measure that would require hospitals to provide family caregivers with instruction needed to care for loved ones at home after discharge.

At the halfway point of the 2014 state Legislature, all of AARP Hawaii’s priority bills have successfully passed initial scrutiny by respective Senate and House committees.