AARP Pennsylvania

Good things happen when AARP shows up and begins by listening to what a community needs. And that is just what we did in 2012.

This past fall, AARP sponsored a multicultural festival, held at the renowned National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The festival was a celebration of the diversity and community life that is found throughout the Delaware Valley. The event brought together local residents and guests to celebrate a rich medley of cultures within the African American, Asian, and Hispanic-Latino communities.

The following article commemorating AARP PA’s 25th anniversary appears in the November 2012 edition of Inside AARP.

The New Year brings back our elected officials to the nation’s capital to offer up real fiscal change that will jump-start our economy.

AARP won a major victory in this past October when a judge delayed implementation of Pennsylvania's controversial voter identification law, ordering the state not to enforce it for the presidential election. The injunction represented the culmination of months work by AARP Pennsylvania,and AARP Foundation Litigation. When it was signed into law back in March, PA’s Voter ID statute was considered among the nation’s toughest. Soon after its approval, voting rights activists filed a lawsuit challenging the law, and AARP submitted “friend-of-the-court” briefs in the case. The legal case worked its way through the PA court system over the summer, and AARP’s position earned significant media attention. AARP also partnered with dozens of community groups statewide to protest the law, culminating in a rally at Philadelphia’s historic Independence Mall, to help voters understand exactly what they would need to vote.

AARP recenlty won a major victory when a judge delayed the implementation of Pennsylvania's controversial voter identification law, ordering the state not to enforce it in this year's November 6 presidential election.

AARP PA recently joined with the PA Utility Law Project to file a friend of the court brief in a lawsuit opposing the state Public Utility Commission’s decision allowing a Pike County electricity provider to purchase power for its default service program exclusively on the short–term spot market.

The PA General Assembly adjourned for the year without voting on H.B. 2191 which would have allowed payday lenders to issue short-term loans with annual percentage rates over 300%. That means lawmakers will have to start from scratch when the new legislative session begins in January.

AARP launched You’ve Earned a Say< http://www.earnedasay.org/> back in March, and PA residents have not been shy about entering the national conversation about how to protect Medicare and Social Security for today’s seniors and strengthen them for future generations. So far the You’ve Earned a Say has engaged over 3 million people nationwide.

Patricia Quigg of Jenkintown has been selected by AARP, the nonprofit membership organization for people 50 and older, to receive Pennsylvania’s 2012 AARP Andrus Award for Community Service, the Association’s most prestigious and visible volunteer award.