2011 Chapter Needs & Plans
As we announced briefly at the January 17 monthly meeting, we have several important areas where we need help from our members. To reach all members, let us review these areas of volunteer needs again:
SETUP/TAKEDOWN at meetings: This is our Number One problem that we must solve if we are to continue our monthly meetings at the LOW Clubhouse. We need a crew of three or four to handle the chairs. We need another two or three people to help move and set up tables, and to arrange tables for the monthly Silent Auction fund-raiser.
Right now, Joe McEuen is our only Setup/Takedown Crew Chief. We need another to spell Joe when he can’t make a meeting…and Crew volunteers to handle chairs and tables. To sign up to help in a month or two that will be convenient for you, contact Joe at 972-2054 or email mac3rdgr@Verizon.net. Or you can contact Lucy Churchill at 972-7452 or email glchur@ Comcast.net, who is maintaining the monthly work crew lists.
PHOTOGRAPHERS NEEDED at our monthly meetings/special
events/tours and trips. If you enjoy photography, use your camera to help preserve our AARP events. Coordinate through Nola Davidson, our Scrapbook Chair, at 972-8403 or email nddavid51691@Verizon.net .
SILENT AUCTION HELPERS: Auction Chair Patti Batten always needs helping hands to sort and arrange the various donated products and materials. Simple, easy work…and it would give you “first-look” at the stuff for possible purchase yourself of a “treasure.” Contact Patti at 972-1370 or email Pbat10@Comcast.net .
EYEGLASS PROCESSING for the poor: Committee Chair Betty Hughes needs more helping hands. This group meets the 4th Wednesday morning of each month from 9 AM-to-Noon at the Ferris Building. Duties include washing/drying/sorting donated eyeglasses, or labeling their specifications. Contact Betty at 972-3820 or hughesbj@Comcast.net
CHILD MENTORING PROGRAM: Dick Berra, Committee Chair, coordinates Chapter Child Mentoring volunteers with our local elementary schools and volunteers in another such program at LOW Church. If you enjoy working with kids, contact Dick at 972-3225 or hberra@Comcast.net .
Finally, our Chapter helped others during 2010 with a total of more than 46,000 volunteer-hours! Great work, members!
Dick Martin, President
Where Have All the Bees Gone?
by Carolyn Wray, Publicity
Bob Duxbury, a retired engineer from IBM Corporation, will be the speaker at the next meeting of AARP Chapter 5239, which will take place on Monday, February 21, at the LOW Clubhouse. He will be speaking about the care and feeding of the honeybee and also about the important health benefits associated with honeybees.
Since 2006, about one-third of the honey bee population in the USA has been lost from “Colony Collapse Disorder” (or CCD), which is now a worldwide problem. No one knows what causes the problem. The issue is concerning since one-third of the food we eat is pollinated by honey bees.*
Mr. Duxbury has been involved in beekeeping for 30 years. He is a member of the Northern Piedmont Beekeepers Association in Culpeper and the Virginia State Beekeepers Association, which is sponsored by Virginia Tech. This most interesting topic has repercussions for the future availability of our food supply.
*This information in this paragraph was found on bestbeekeeping.com
NOTICE
The Post Office charges AARP for all returned mail. If you have your mail forwarded to an alternate address during the year, and you want to receive your copy of Perspectives at that address, send your new/temporary address to Carla at cpw_low@yahoo.com or call 972-3436. Give the months you will be away and Carla will restart your Perspectives at the LOW address.
We mail during the first two weeks of the month.
FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS
(Aquarius and Pisces)
Helen Berra, Kathleen Bradford,
Kathleen Bradie, Jack Doherty,
Irving Grimes, Benjamine Jason,
Ed Kessler, Lincoln Klabo,
Norma Lanier, Jeanne Larsen,
Frank Liberti, Patricia Lieb,
Joan Litschert, Nora Lloyd,
Sylvia Lyngle, Laurie Paoness,
Barbara Rakes, Nancy Sandleitner,
Bob Schafer, Barbara Scott,
Peggy Simpson, Alton Smith,
Joann Strawhun, Micky Talbott, Clair Wescott, Russell Williams,
Patricia Witmer, Jody Zogran,
and Ray Zogran
SUNSHINE REPORT
Sympathy cards were sent to June Pataky on the death of her husband and to Donna Stanford on the death of her brother.
Get well cards were sent to Joe & Alberta Diamonstein, Norma Ervin, Bob and Elizabeth Sherba, and Kathy Stephens in the hospital in Naples, Florida.
If you know of a member who needs cheering up, contact Carolyn Durphy at 972-3306.
It is that time of the year again to pay chapter dues of $7 per person. You may pay at the February meeting or mail a check to AARP Chapter 5239, P.O. Box 945, Locust Grove, VA 22508. Some of you are already paid for 2011. If you double paid last year or if you joined our chapter for the very first time in September or later, your dues are paid until Dec 31, 2011. If you are not sure, contact the Treasurer, Dick Durphy at 762-3306 or ask at the meeting.
NOTES, BITS AND PIECES
New Members
Kyriacos Adamou, Ruth Downs and Nora Lloyd
Silent Auction
We will need more new or gently used items for auction. You may bring your donations to the meeting or call Ann at 972-3326, Joyce at 972-4176, or Patti 972-1370. You may also call our three new committee members, Jean Molinari 972-8310; Margaret Thode 972-5540, and Sharon Webb 972-1666. Welcome and thanks for volunteering.
The January meeting earned $88 toward our charity donations. Thanks to our Chairperson, Roxanne Kessler, and your generous donations, we gave $1,168 to our charities for 2010. Be sure to come early and browse the tables at the Silent Auction.
Report Email Address Changes
AARP Chapter 5239 uses emails to alert members to upcoming events and happenings. To avoid being “out of touch,” please pass along your new email address whenever you change it.
Send your changes to Carla Wascalus, Membership Chair, at 972-3436 or CPW_LOW@Yahoo.com . She will coordinate all email changes with Joe Diamondstein, Chapter Email Guru, and all appropriate Chapter officials and committee heads.
“Keep Social Security Strong” Drive Update
by Dick Martin
Remember the AARP petition drive last November and December to send Members of Congress and the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility a loud and clear message “Don’t cut Social Security to reduce a deficit it didn’t cause.”?
AARP’s Nancy LeaMond, Executive VP of State and National Groups, reports that “over 500 AARP Chapters from all across the country gathered more than 42,000 petition signatures, which we delivered to Congress and the Debt Commission.”
Locust Grove Chapter 5239 contributed 107 signatures to the drive. Top Chapter was Bayamon Chapter 4708 in Puerto Rico, which sent in 2,247 signatures.
As you may have heard, the co-chairs of the President’s Fiscal Commission released a plan to reduce the deficit that included “unfair cuts to Social Security that will hurt today’s seniors and weaken retirement security for the middle class.” Although the plan didn’t win enough support from the overall commission to trigger a vote in Congress, supporters continue to push Congress and the President to adopt their recommendations.
National AARP promises to continue working during 2011 “to make sure politicians understand the importance of Social Security and to not sacrifice the retirement of today’s seniors to close a budget gap Social Security didn’t cause.”
Protective Money Management Volunteers Needed
by Carla Wascalus
Volunteers are needed to help low-income persons manage their money. AARP’s Protective Money Management Program is in partnership with RRCSB in conjunction with the Social Security Administration. The Protective Money Management Program helps older people with limited income who are having difficulty paying their bills or managing their money. The program is sponsored by AARP, which insures funds in the client’s bank account up to $35,000.
As a volunteer you will receive a direct deposit from Social Security into a bank account, which is set up for the client, and use this money to pay the client’s bills, manage their daily expenses, etc. This may require one or two visits a month with the client. This is an ongoing commitment, not a one time volunteering opportunity, but one that will be very satisfying.
For information go to www.rrcsb.org. Click on Protective Money Management link, then on the last paragraph for volunteer details. Or contact Doug Schiffman, Coordinator for PMMP, at (540) 825-3100 x3159, on his cell (301) 370-4210 or by email at dschiffman@ rrcsb.org. He will come to LOW to do the two-hour training that is required.
Medical News
by Sandy Frame
Do you get heartburn after meals? There are estimates that 10–20 % of American adults have heartburn on a weekly basis. If this is an occasional problem there are some things you can do to help prevent heartburn:
· Avoid foods that can cause heartburn such as chocolate, peppermint, caffeinated and or carbonated drinks, alcohol, fatty foods, citrus, tomatoes, and garlic.
· Don’t eat large meals, and don’t eat two to three hours prior to bedtime.
· Elevate the head of your bed if you get heartburn when lying down.
· Don’t wear tight fitting clothes or lift heavy weights.
· Abstain from smoking, drinking alcohol in moderation and maintain a healthy weight (overweight and obese people are more likely to have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) or heartburn.
If you suffer heartburn more than twice a week, please tell your doctor.
Legislative News
by Pat Berry
AARP Virginia is constantly active in monitoring legislative activity and advocating for seniors in the General Assembly. Now they have created a new tool for us to hear of legislative concerns between now and March 4 by calling a toll-free telephone number to hear about the issues being debated. Every Friday until March 4 you can call 1-866-215-3402 at 2 PM and, when prompted, enter the Pin # 3443045. It ‘s set up to be an interactive conference call, but you can choose to participate or mute your telephone line and just listen.
On January 21 the discussion focused on efforts to repeal the current Social Security Unemployment Insurance Offset. This bill, when passed, will impact 34,000 older workers who were unable to receive their full unemployment insurance while out of work. Future issues include support of the Virginia Elder Rights Commission in an effort to allow individuals with family members in nursing homes to communicate with other families and discuss common problems without conflict over privacy issues.
Another issue concerns legislation governing reciprocity when an eldercare guardian lives in another state. And the last item on the January 21 agenda explained the effort to allow Virginia to create a “health exchange” to individuals who need to discuss health care insurance options if the current health care law remains in effect and all persons are required to have health insurance.
All in all, I rate the AARP toll-free telephone discussion an A+.
Highlights of January Meeting
by Pam Nalls, Secretary
Thanks to Jean Molinari, Sharon Webb and Margaret Thode who have volunteered to help Chair, Patti Batten, with the functions of the Silent Auction Committee.
· Chapter 5239’s Standing Rules were approved for 2011. (Per the National AARP standing directives, local AARP Chapters must have their general operating directives approved by the general body on a yearly basis.)
· New Members Ruth Downs and Nora Lloyd were welcomed.
· Paul Tobin conducted the 50/50 drawing; the winner of $49 was John Trach.
· Our next meeting will be on February 21.
