Delaware's Volunteers Shine Brightly
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2004-12-22 00:00:00-05:00
AARP’s Delaware volunteer stars were honored November 9th, at the annual AARP Delaware Volunteer Awards Celebration and Luncheon at Dover Downs. More than 125 volunteers from the state's Advocacy Issue Team, Red Hat Brigade, AARP Driver Safety Program, AARP Tax-Aide, Delaware Money Management were in attendance, along with chapter officers.
Following an elegant buffet lunch, attendees were treated to entertainment by the 30-member AARP South Coastal Chapter Chorus and given a special memento—a "volunteer star" photograph of each volunteer with AARP founder, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus.
Here are some highlights of the volunteer accolades given by Executive Council Member for Community Service, Georgianna Calabrese:
"The contributions of our volunteers in 2004 truly made a difference in the lives of 50+ Delawareans. Our 62 AARP Driver Safety Program instructors taught 166 courses and helped more than 4,500 students learn how to improve and maintain their driving skills.
Delaware was selected to pilot two innovations to AARP's national program. One was a four-hour refresher for the driver certification course. The second was an administrative enhancement to expedite the ordering of materials for classes. Both programs were extremely successful. Thanks to all of the instructors and program leaders for lending us your time and talents.
The 100 AARP Tax-Aide volunteers, serving 60 sites statewide, assisted in preparing nearly 8,000 Federal and State tax returns and e-filed almost half of the federal returns. The free, tax counseling and preparation service offered by these dedicated volunteers helped thousands of low- and middle-income Delawareans receive much-needed and deserved tax refunds. The work of the counselors and leadership volunteers makes a significant difference in communities throughout our state.
The persistence and dedication of our Advocacy Issue Leaders and our Red Hat Brigade resulted in legislative wins during this year's session. Bills signed into law included SB 119, which provides special investigators in long-term care facilities with the same powers as investigators of child abuse and neglect, and SB 142, which ended the practice of pre-signing death certificates in nursing homes.
Our advocacy efforts also have helped to make significant progress in "money follows the person" legislation which allows for flexibility in how money is spent by an individual requiring long-term care. Your efforts as advocates for 50+ Delawareans are vital to our work. Congratulations to all who have helped to make AARP's voice heard at the state capital.
Chapters are an integral part of AARP, and we depend heavily upon them to bring in volunteers. We rely on chapters to pass on the word about AARP to our members in local areas, and we look to them to help us reach out to members with programs and services offered by the organization.
In Delaware, we have 12 chapters, and each chapter has at least four officers who actively promote AARP and work to ensure the chapter functions for the benefit of the membership. In the past year, the 12 chapters provided volunteers for community organizations to help those who were unable to help themselves. These chapters were able to mobilize hundreds of volunteers to collect food, visit nursing homes, clean-up highways, deliver books and meals to shut-ins and assist schools with needed supplies for the school year. Without chapter volunteers, local communities would have a very tough time addressing the needs of those less fortunate.
In the infamous words of Ethel Percy Andrus, "The human contribution is the essential ingredient. It is only in the giving of oneself to others that we truly live."
On behalf of AARP Delaware's executive council and state office team, I would like to express our deep appreciation for the significant contributions our volunteers make toward the advancement of our vision of a society in which everyone ages with dignity and purpose."
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