Volunteering

AARP Wisconsin is recruiting volunteers to help other state residents file returns in the tax season ahead. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide offers free face-to-face assistance to low- and moderate-income taxpayers, especially those age 60-plus, at convenient sites such as libraries and senior and community centers.

Michiganders who want to make the transition to encore careers can get practical advice at a free event Oct. 17 in Grand Rapids.

By Tom Scherberger

AARP District of Columbia 5 th Annual Food Drive is October 4-5

By Carol Brooks Ball

Do you know of an intersection or street crossing in yourcommunity that is challenging or even dangerous for a pedestrian to cross? If you’re like most people, you certainly do. But now you can help do something about it!

By Carol Brooks Ball

Brenda Kelly-Nelum, a loyal AARP volunteer, is a champion for senior citizens. She has been a longtime activist for standing up and protecting seniors from abuse and wrongdoings. A Washington D.C native, Brenda attended public school before they were integrated. In 1954, her 7 th grade year, she went from a small six room elementary school to the quite large Eastern High School. The transformation she said is unforgettable. Brenda continued her education and received a BA from Howard University.

Bruce Smith, a longtime activist, grew up in Falls Church, Virginia but moved to Vienna, Virginia after the death of his father. He credits his college years to his Mother’s Social Security Survivor Benefits and the two jobs she worked to help him through those tough years. Bruce gets his spirit from his Mother, a Virginia Republican leader and activist who championed women’s rights and civil rights—issues that the Republican Party advocated for in those days. Although Bruce was a College Young Republican leader and organizer, he began drifting. When pushed to make a choice between property rights and civil rights—he chose the latter.

Since being launched earlier this summer, the new AARP Coffee and Conversation series has engaged hundreds of AARP members and 50+ Charlotteans on a variety of issues. As a new program coming from the new AARP office in Charlotte, it has been an exciting time for the staff and AARP volunteers who organize and facilitate those programs. With October's full offering of new sessions approaching (see below for the list of October's programs), the excitement is building even more, as October marks the beginning of the Affordable Care Act's "marketplaces" and the time when more people want simple answers to sometimes complex questions.