On Aug. 5, AARP Maine brought nearly 250 people to Hadlock Field to enjoy a Portland Seadogs baseball game and to celebrate our annual Volunteer Appreciation Day. In recognition of their many hours of service this year, AARP Volunteers were each offered two tickets to the baseball game, an all-you-can eat barbeque luncheon, and special seating for the game in the U.S.Cellular Pavilion. To kick the day off, AARP Maine Executive Council member, Meredith Tipton, threw the first pitch for the game against the Maryland Bowie Baysox.

In Maine, over 600 members volunteer for AARP through the state office, local AARP Chapters, and several programs, including the AARP Driver Safety, AARP Tax-Aide, and AARP Money Management. In addition, many AARP members volunteer for programs that help seniors across the state, such as the Senior Medicare Patrol, and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Here’s how our many volunteers have made Maine a better place to live:

The Driver Safety Program volunteers teach classroom refresher courses across the state for experienced, mature drivers. The program is designed to help drivers learn about defensive driving techniques, new traffic laws, rules of the road and much more.

This year, more than 200 Tax-Aide volunteers in Maine provided free help to over 18,000 low- to middle-income Mainers who needed assistance preparing and filing their taxes. Tax-Aide volunteers fill a variety of roles, including tax preparers, greeters, communications coordinators and technology coordinators. AARP Tax-Aide is administered by AARP Foundation in cooperation with the IRS.

The Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program depends on AARP volunteers to help advocate for consumers receiving long-term care services, either in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and in their homes.

The Senior Medicare Patrol program utilizes volunteers to teach Medicare beneficiaries and others how to recognize and report health care fraud. There are currently 65 Senior Medicare Patrol volunteers in Maine who provided over 850 hours of training in the state last year.

If you would like to learn more about volunteering opportunities with AARP in Maine, please contact Greg Cross at gcross@aarp.org.
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