November 2020
Volume 27 Number 4
COMPL
IMENTA
RY
AARP volunteers and staff support local veterans, military and their families through various programs with the Southwest Veterans Center, located on Highland Drive in East Liberty. After COVID put a halt to all the fun programs planned at the center, including picnics and bingo parties, the volunteer team got creative.
Volunteers from AARP Pennsylvania are passionate about helping our local veterans.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions on many levels for everyone, and our nation’s veterans are certainly no exception. Like other organizations serving older adults, local AARP volunteers and staff have had to pivot in order to continue serving local seniors, as well as veterans, military and their families.
“AARP salutes the service and sacrifice of America’s veterans, military and their families,” comments Jennifer Blatz, Associate State Director for Community Outreach and Advocacy for AARP Pennsylvania. “With more than four million
members nationwide who have served our country, AARP has a long history of providing free resources, important information, and timely programming to meet their unique needs. In good times and during national crises like the current COVID-19 pandemic, we’re making it quicker and easier to access resources and tools to improve our veterans’ quality of life.” Following are a number of the programs, initiatives and ways in which AARP is helping our local heroes and their families.
“The center had to shut down and the 325 veterans who reside there have not left the center since March,” says Mary Ann Raymer, co-chair of the AARP Western PA Veterans Committee, composed of 25 AARP members who are passionate about serving veterans and their families. So the committee had the brilliant idea of starting a card writing campaign to the residents. “Between April and June, we wrote about 800 cards with messages like ‘thank you for your service’ and ‘thinking of you.’ We also delivered jigsaw puzzles, cookies and soft drinks, magazines and face masks. They’re able to still run bingo inside the center so we coordinated the donation of some bingo prizes, too.”
Card writing campaign Locally, AARP partners
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