Volunteering

Beginning Feb. 1 through April 18, AARP Foundation is providing free tax assistance and preparation through its Tax-Aide program. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in its 49th year, is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service, offering free tax preparation help to anyone, especially those who are 50 and older, who cannot afford a tax preparation service.

AARP Delaware volunteers celebrated the holidays in a very special way – Spanish style!

As part of a long-range strategy, AARP Delaware invited a dynamic group of women to the table and initiated a collaborative venture with the Wilmington Delaware Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Delta Sigma Theta is a predominantly African-America sorority whose agenda is built on community service. The sorority boasts more than 900 chapters worldwide, and has initiated over 250,000 members. This collaborative effort allowed the state office to weave the key areas of multi-generational, multicultural and the movable middle into all they did with the well-known sorority.

AARP Foundation is looking to expand its team of volunteers for the upcoming tax season by recruiting interested Delawareans. Tax-Aide is an AARP Foundation program that offers free tax filing help for those who need it most, especially adults 50 and older, during the tax season.

State Rep. Paul Baumbach, 23 rd District, joined AARP for its second annual AARP room dedication for caregivers at the Ronald McDonald House of Delaware. AARP donates a room at the House to help provide housing for families whose children are receiving treatment at Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children and Christiana Care.

This week, AARP State President Rashmi Rangan and AARP State Director Lucretia Young headed to Washington to advocate on behalf of AARP members and all older Americans on the crucial issues of Family Caregiving and Social Security. While meeting with Senator Carper, Senator Coons and Representative Carney, they will have crucial asks:

“No man can know where his is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.” -- Maya Angelou

AARP and a team of supporters spent January 27, 2016 at Legislative Hall in Dover advocating for better support for caregivers. The group met with legislators including CARE Act sponsors Senator Bethany Hall-Long and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst. The group provided valuable information on the CARE Act, which will help make it possible for older Delawareans and other loved ones to live at home and in their own communities – which is where they want to be.

The Caregiving Task Force, which was formed with the passage of AARP Model Resolution 57 during the 2014 legislative session, met its deadline and delivered its recommendations to Governor Markell and the House and Senate on May 29, 2015. Former State President and Caregiving volunteer Jeanne Nutter, Ph.D., served as co-chair on the task force to help drive the agenda and ensure better resources and policies for family caregivers. The task force spent many months assessing family caregiving in Delaware to develop a list of needs that will benefit consumers and employers alike.

AARP Delaware State Director Lucretia Young recently announced that Rashmi Rangan has been chosen as the new AARP Delaware State President. Ms. Rangan takes the helm as AARP’s top volunteer in the First State following an extensive recruitment effort to find a leader who shares AARP’s mission and vision. A strong leader, grandmother and advocate, she exemplifies for all Delawareans that your potential is not limited by age.