About AARP

RALEIGH – AARP advocacy and community outreach expert Michael Olender has been named Director of AARP North Carolina. Olender will lead the North Carolina staff and team of nearly 500 volunteers who are working to improve the health, finances and well-being of nearly 1.1 million members in the state.

More than 1.2 million family members provide unpaid care in North Carolina, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute. They often tackle challenging duties like medication management and dressing wounds.

RALEIGH - Recognizing the immediate and long-term challenges that those affected by Hurricane Florence still face, particularly vulnerable older adults, AARP members and AARP Foundation are donating $635,000 to various rebuilding as well as legal assistance efforts in North Carolina.

Guilford County has recently joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, along with other counties such as Buncombe, Mecklenburg, Orange, and Wake. Age-Friendly Network members work toward becoming vibrant and welcoming for people of all ages through a continuous cycle of improvement in specific areas of design and sustainability. These areas promote health and quality of life for older adults and benefit all those in the community. An early step in the process of becoming an Age-Friendly Community is assessing Guilford County’s needs and priorities in those key areas.

ASHEVILLE -- The irony was perfect: outside the front door of Asheville’s NC Stage Company, teenagers were skateboarding down Walnut Street, an elder’s classic stereotype of adolescence if there ever was one. Inside, a different group of teens (and elders) were creating and putting on a performance––“Mind the Gap”––about breaking down such stereotypes.

CHARLOTTE -- Former Director of Legislative Affairs for the North Carolina Department of Public Safety Lara J. Cole has joined AARP North Carolina as Associate State Director in the Charlotte Region.

By Sue Price Johnson

ASHEVILLE – At a regional fraud prevention event held by elder advocates across the Mountain Region, AARP volunteer Betsy Cantrell was presented with the AARP Andrus Award for her outstanding contributions to improving the lives of adults as they age.

RALEIGH – As part of an initiative to help curb fraud and identity theft that target older North Carolinians, AARP is pleased to announce a new top volunteer position it is working to fill. AARP’s Fraud Prevention Impact Leader will work with AARP North Carolina Executive Council members and other volunteers to develop and implement a statewide fraud prevention plan and extend AARP Fraud Watch Network programs and advocacy across the state.

By Michelle Crouch