AARP Kansas

I have always enjoyed learning, whether it is traditional “book-learning” or the more spontaneous kind. Since receiving my Bachelor’s degree in 1980 from Emporia State University, I’ve returned to school many times for a class or two – I even completed 20 hours toward a Master’s degree before I met my husband. I stopped taking classes toward that degree to help him finish a very important job – raising three teenaged girls. Now, I’m a grandmother, with six beautiful grandchildren.

Black History Month is about American History with a focus on the contributions African American/Blacks made to build our country. Here in Kansas, we can trace the outstanding contributions of Gordon Parks, George Washington Carver, Langston Hughes, and others. We can be proud that African Americans/Blacks fought for Kansas in the Civil War and helped to settle towns in Kansas, including Nicodemus, which stands today as a national historic site.

It’s that time of year when lots of critical issues are being discussed and debated at the Kansas Legislature in Topeka. AARP Advocacy Director Ernie Kutzley is working with partners and volunteers to research issues, testify before legislative committees, and keep in constant contact with legislators. While AARP Kansas introduces and/or monitors dozens of the hundreds of bills that get introduced each year, there are several we are focusing our attention on in 2013.

January 9, 2013

In honor of Native American Heritage in November, and to highlight Diabetes Awareness, AARP Kansas partnered for the 2 nd year with the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) to sponsor the second annual Intertribal Cooking Class at the Prairie Band Potawatomi Casino and Resort in Mayetta, Kansas . Forty members from all four federally recognized indigenous tribes in Kansas (e.g., Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Kickapoo Nation of Kansas, Sac and Fox Nation, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) attended one of two 45 minute interactive diabetes education classes taught over the course of two days. Each participant then spent several hours learning how to eat a healthy diet from Richard Hetzler, renowned and award winning executive chef from the Mitsitam Cafe at the Smithsonian Institute. Unlike typical cooking demonstration workshops, participants actually cooked a full course meal before having it served to 80 friends and family. The menu of traditional indigenous foods included walnut salad with grilled corn, chili and chocolate dusted salmon filet, anasazi bean puree, wilted brussel sprout leaves, and cinnamon apple tatin made with a whole wheat crust. The food was delicious and family members and friends wanted the recipes! After the first class in 2011, vending machines were loaded with only sugar free drinks, two tribes built walking paths, cooks started using low-glycemic substitutes instead of high calorie ingredients, and several people lost weight. More evidence that the classes are making an impact on healthy living behaviors will be collected in the coming year.

The Kansas Food Bank has been busy distributing Bob Boxes in 24 counties in Northwest Kansas. The boxes of food, each containing about a week’s worth of groceries, are provided free to older Kansans who may need help at the end of the month to put food on the table. Not all counties have food banks or food pantries, so this is a way to get food out to people who may not otherwise have access to assistance. The boxes, named after former U.S. Senator Bob Dole who pledged $250,000 to the program over the next five years, are intended to help alleviate hunger among the state’s older population. AARP Kansas, through a grant from the AARP Foundation and Drive to End Hunger, is assisting the food bank in making sure Kansans know about the program. Bob Boxes will be distributed in additional western Kansas counties in 2013. The boxes are located at various locations in each of the 24 counties, including health departments, senior centers, etc. For more information, contact the Kansas Food Bank at 316-265-4421.

Within the next several months, residents of the Tri-S Neighborhood in Wichita will be seeing the new grandparent park in their area come to life. AARP Kansas State Director Maren Turner and Interim Volunteer State President Ann Garvin were on hand November 9 to break ground for the park, a partnership of AARP Kansas, the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging (CPAAA), the City of Wichita and the Tri-S Neighborhood Association, which consists of residents of the Schweiter, Schweiter East and Sunnyside neighborhoods.

AARP Kansas honored its 2012 outstanding community service volunteer during a luncheon banquet in Emporia on November 7. Each year, AARP presents its most prestigious award, the Ethel Percy Andrus Award for Community Service, to an individual or individuals who, through volunteer service, significantly enhance the lives of those in their community. This award symbolizes that individuals have the power and ability to make a difference in the lives of others.

AARP Kansas is thrilled to have two Kansans serving AARP on the national level. Joan Ruff of Mission Woods was recently appointed to a six year term on the AARP Board of Directors. After serving as a lawyer in private practice, Ruff became head tax attorney for an oil and gas company and later served in executive management at Zurich Financial Services and H&R Block.

Washin gton, DC – AARP Chief Executive Officer A. Barry Rand sent a letter opposing any further extension of the Social Security payroll tax holiday to Members of Congress and the White House today. The text of the letter follows.