Rose Nakamura Receives AARP The Magazine’s 2009 Inspire Award

Source: AARP.org

Hawaii’s Rose Nakamura has been named a recipient of AARP The Magazine’s 2009 Inspire Award.  The annual award pays tribute to 10 extraordinary people across the country who have inspired others to action through innovative thinking.

Nakamura is the co-founder of Project Dana, a program established in 1989 to connect older members of the community with volunteers who provide companionship and care.  The idea took shape when Nakamura began noticing that elderly members of her Buddhist temple on Oahu stopped attending services when they could no longer drive.  In Hawaii, there’s a growing need for caregivers who can lend a hand to elderly residents who live alone, or whose adult children live on the Mainland.  Today, Project Dana serves more than 1,000 kupuna.

“Dana is about extending compassion and care, without any reward or recognition,” says Nakamura.  “Caregiving is everybody’s business.”  For information about Project Dana visit http://www.moiliilihongwanji.org/Project_Dana_.htm.

Honorees received their Inspire Awards on December 8 at a private cocktail reception and dinner at the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.   The 2009 honorees include Glenn Close (Mental Health Advocate), Richard M. Cohen (Voice for the Chronically Ill), Martin Eakes (Lending to the Poor), Katherine Freund (Transportation Activist), Peter Gallagher (Alzheimer’s Advocate), David E. Hayes-Bautista, Ph.D. (Latino-Health Researcher), Quincy Jones (Global Poverty Fighter), Susan Love, M.D. (Cancer Crusader), Rose Nakamura (Compassionate Caregiver), and Alma Powell (Children’s Advocate).

Other Resources

Additional information on AARP The Magazine’s 2009 Inspire Award honorees can be found online at www.aarpmagazine.org/inspire. 

For information about Project Dana visit http://www.moiliilihongwanji.org/Project_Dana_.htm.