By: States: District of Columbia Source: AARP.org Date Posted:
June 2008
Help celebrate AARP is recruiting 800 volunteers from Washington and suburbs in Maryland and Northern Virginia to lend a hand and have fun at AARP’s 50th-birthday party in September. Most of the volunteer jobs for AARP’s Life@50+ National Event & Expo require standing for at least one four-hour shift. Volunteers will receive a T-shirt, a meal voucher to be used before or after a shift and free entrance to the sessions and exhibit hall. This year’s member event will be held at the Washington Convention Center, Sept. 4-6. Volunteer slots are limited, and June 20 is the deadline to sign up. Visit www.aarp.org/dc for an application or call 1-877-926-8300 toll free. Volunteers will be notified of their assignments in July and must attend an orientation at the Washington Convention Center in mid-August.April 2008
Clean sweep – For its programs that help to connect generations and foster civic engagement, D.C.’s McKinley Technology High School has received a $100,000 Ethel Percy Andrus Legacy Award from AARP. The school will use the money to expand Project SWEEP Jr., a program that trains students to educate others about energy conservation, environmental protection and other issues. In addition, part of the award will be combined with funds from the D.C. Office of Technology and Google to support a van that will take students to senior centers, where they will teach older people how to use computer programs and the Internet. The D.C. school is one of seven nationwide selected to receive the Legacy Award as part of AARP’s 50th anniversary celebration. The award is named for AARP’s founder, who was a high school principal in Los Angeles.
March 2008
Fraud busters – AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) scored a victory on behalf of older homeowners in 2007 when a D.C. Superior Court judge issued a $228,000 judgment against a home contractor who defrauded a disabled woman in her 80s of more than $80,000. The woman, who has lived in her Washington home since the 1950s, had taken out a reverse mortgage to pay the contractor to renovate her basement so she could rent out the space to supplement her income. The judge found that only 20 percent of the “improvements” to the basement were even attempted, and the work completed did not meet the District’s building code standards. District residents age 60 and older who believe they have fallen victim to home improvement scams can call LCE at 202-434-2120.
December 2007
Scam prevention – The D.C. Council was expected in early November to pass the Home Equity Protection Act of 2007, a measure designed to protect homeowners in financial distress from foreclosure rescue scams. Purportedly designed to save homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments, these "rescues" often transfer the property's title to the supposed rescuer and leave the former homeowner facing eviction. The legislation would outlaw contracts that lead homeowners to unwittingly sign over ownership of their homes while thinking they are signing a loan with better terms. The AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly (LCE) and AARP DC worked closely with Council member Mary Cheh, D, to draft the legislation. If you think you may have fallen for such a scam, call Anthony Gracey of AARP LCE at 202-434-2085.
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