Volunteering

Do you know an extraordinary volunteer age 50 or older? Please show your appreciation by nominating him or her for the 2016 AARP Utah Andrus Award for Community Service. The annual Andrus Award for Community Service is AARP’s most prestigious and visible volunteer award. It recognizes individuals who share their experience, talent and skills to enrich their communities in ways that are consistent with AARP’s mission, vision, and commitment to volunteer service, and who inspire others to volunteer.

AARP Foundation is looking to build its team of volunteers for its Tax-Aide program. Tax-Aide is a free tax assistance and preparation program for taxpayers with low to moderate income through the AARP Foundation.

November marks National Family Caregivers Month, a time to recognize the more than 336,000 family caregivers in Utah who help older parents, spouses, and other loved ones live independently at home, where they want to be. The unpaid care they provide through managing medications, cooking meals, driving to appointments, performing complex medicals tasks and more is valued at $4.15 billion in Utah alone.

AARP Utah was pleased to bestow the 2015 Andrus Award for Community Service to Carol Jenson. Carol is a dedicated, tireless volunteer with the Utah Food Bank, delivering food boxes to seniors every week. Though the Food Bank only asks volunteers to deliver to a maximum of three people, Carol serves 21. These people not only anticipate her arrival with food to supplement their diets but the social interaction with the pleasant and caring person who brightens up their lives. One the rare occasions when she is unable to make it, Carol makes sure that food is delivered to the people who depend on it. She spent at least 250 hours at the Food Bank last year and was honored as their Volunteer of the Year in 2014.

AARP Foundation provides free tax assistance and preparation for tax payers with low to moderate income through the Tax-Aide program and is currently seeking volunteer tax preparers. AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, in its 46 th year, is the nation’s largest free tax assistance and preparation service, giving special attention to the older population. There are no age restrictions and it is not necessary to be a member of AARP nor a retiree to use this service.

AARP Utah is pleased to welcome two new members to the AARP Utah Executive Council.

By David Judd, URSEA Executive Director

Do you know an extraordinary volunteer age 50 or older? Show your appreciation by nominating him or her for the 2015 AARP Utah Andrus Award for Community Service. The annual Andrus Award for Community Service is AARP’s most prestigious and visible volunteer award. It recognizes individuals who are sharing their experience, talent and skills to enrich their communities in ways that are consistent with AARP’s mission, vision, and commitment to volunteer service, and that inspire others to volunteer.

Congratulations to AARP Utah's Community Outreach Director Jill Duke, who was honored April 17 as the Utah Food Bank's Board Member of the Year. The remarks by Board Chair Scott Jensen honoring her for this award follow below:

AARP Utah extends its warmest congratulations to Duane Blackwell, AARP’s Driver Safety Program 2014 Utah Volunteer of the Year who was recently selected as the Regional Volunteer of the Year for Western Region 2. He will now compete with seven other regional winners across the country for the Michael Seaton Volunteer of the Year, the highest award bestowed within the Driver Safety Program recognizing its most outstanding volunteer.