Tag Archives for Kathleen S. Connell

Sarah Gauvin Gets Prestigious AARP Andrus Award

Published in Pawtucket Times on November 25, 2002

People have different perceptions of how retirees spend their time.

Some see retirees traveling across the nation in RVs, working part-time jobs to make ends meet, going for the “big win” at Foxwoods on the one-armed bandits.

Or perhaps retirees are not out and about working or traveling, but instead are sitting on a rocker on the porch, disengaged from the community-at-large.

Not so for Sarah Gauvin, who remembers retiring from her bookkeeping job at age 65 to put more time and energy into her volunteer efforts.

The now 80-year-old Pawtucket resident has been a card-carrying member in AARP’s Chapter 1192 for the last 15 years – serving three years as the group’s vice president and two years as president.

Gauvin has also been extremely active in the aging advocacy group’s efforts of pushing for a drug benefit in Medicare.

However, Gauvin does not limit his volunteer work to just AARP-RI activities – she also uses her time to support other worthy local causes.

As a member of the St. Vicent de Paul Society at St. Edward’s Church in Pawtucket, she assists Rhode Islanders in paying their rent and activities.

On most Wednesdays, you can always find Gauvin working at the Blackstone Valley Emergency Food Center (BVEFC), passing out bags of food. She is a charter member of BVEFC and also sits on the Pawtucket Senior Center Council.

Ten years ago, Gauvin signed up with Literacy Volunteers of America to help teach adults the skill of reading. Ultimately, over this period of time, she would tutor a young woman who was returned to the community after years of being institutionalized in a facility that is now closed.

Before she met Gauvin, she could not read one single word. Today, this woman, now in her 40s, can read at a sixth-grade level.

Last week, at the Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown, more  than 80 seniors and AARP Rhode Island staff gathered to celebrate the importance of volunteerism.

They came to recognize Gauvin and other senior volunteers for their strong commitment efforts and dedication to make the Ocean State a better place to live.

Gauvin became the 2002 recipient of AARP-RI’s Andrus Award, the nonprofit group’s most prestigious volunteer award.

Each year, AARP-RI and other state chapters recognize an outstanding member and volunteer who is making a powerful difference to their community in ways that are consistent with AARP’s mission, vision, values and strategic direction.

State Director Kathleen S. Connell called Garvin’s efforts “inspirational” to many because of her selfless giving.

“In her own quiet way, she has profoundly affected the lives of many others and continues to do so. I hope that when I am her age. I can be half as energetic and contribute as much as does,” Connell says.

Phil Zarlengo, 64, president of AARP-RI, tells All About Seniors, that Gauvin’s sterling track record as a volunteer dispels the myth that seniors lie  life of leisure, not wishing to get involved in their later years with life’s major issues and concerns.

“She has a lifetime commitment to community service at all levels,” he adds.

According to Zarlengo, hundreds of AARP volunteers also exemplify Gauvin’s commitment to the community.

“We are highly dependent upon these volunteers to really fulfill AARP RI’s mission,” that is enhancing the quality of life for all ages, to lead positive social change and to deliver value to members through information , advocacy and service.

Gauvin is sold on the positives of being a volunteer.

“Get involved,” she urged “because it makes your life brighter, if you help somebody else.”

AARP Works to Get the Vote Out

Published in the Pawtucket Times on October  21, 2002

AARP is flexing its political muscle.

While it’s not endorsing political candidates from either the Republican and Democratic ranks, one of the nation’s largest membership groups is moving swiftly to educate its members on key aging issues and directing  resources to get the vote out on Election Day.

AARP CEO Bill Novelli has begun the mobilization of his 35 million-plus members to hold all political candidates accountable in the upcoming elections. With the bipartisan gridlock that keeps a law from being enacted to lower skyrocketing drug costs and to provide drug coverage in Medicare, Novelli and his aging rank and file are just plan tired of promises. I can just imagine hearing him shout from AARP headquarters in Washington, D.C. “We are not going to take it anymore!”

This month, AARP begins to take steps to prod the political candidates to become more responsive to aging issues before Nov. 5 elections.

Over the next two weeks, AARP will begin a first-ever national voter education campaign on television. Aimed at voters age 50 and over, the advertising campaign’s get-out-the-vote message calls for the need of a Medicare drug benefit and the importance of Social Security to seniors.

On the issue of Social Security, the message says: “After all you’ve done to earn a paycheck, make sure some of it will be there when you retire. Know where the candidates stand on the future of Social Security and vote.”

Meanwhile, 50 candidate forums, like the one recently held in Warwick by AARP Rhode Island have already been held to enable older votes to directly question local candidates. AARP plans to hold an additional 20 events before Nov 5.

Here’s the rationale for AARP hosting the forums – seniors want detailed information and no longer want to learn about a candidate’s position and priorities in a 30-second sound bite or in a paragraph on a glossy campaign brochure.

Additionally, all congressional candidates will be asked to sign a new Medicare prescription pledge, promising that if they are elected, they will enact a benefit that is voluntary, stable and affordable in 2003.

A warning to the incoming politicians – keep your word. The names of candidates who do – and don’t- agree to sign this Medicare drug pledge will be made public, too.

More that 8.5 million AARP voter guides will be printed, detailing up-to-date information where candidates stand on senior issues. Localized election information on state and national races nationwide will also be made available on a comprehensive website  at http:/www.aarp.org/elections2002.

AARP will even fund Election Day polling, where voters in selected districts will be asked about the defining issues that influenced their votes. The results of this polling will signal to those  elected to Congress what priorities they will face when they begin their new terms in January 2003.

Finally, phone banks where an estimated 500,000 telephone calls will be made will assist AARP’s efforts to get out the vote on Election Day.

If AARP is successful in getting its political savvy and educated membership to the polls, political candidates had better listen to their concerns.

“Older voters participate in elections at a higher rate than any age group,” said AARP Director of Grassroots and Elections Kevin Donnellan, noting that the mid-term elections, where overall voter numbers are low, the percentage senior voting is higher.

Furthermore, Donnellan said in the 1998 mid-term elections, more than 60 percent of the voters were 45 and older. More than 70 percent of AARP members typically vote, he added.

AARP grassroots efforts might even become a factor in tight races, specifically deciding who goes to Washington and who stays at home, Donnellan says.

“Now that we are down to the wire to Election Day, AARP Rhode Island joins AARP nationally to urge Rhode Island seniors to demonstrate once again that they are the most dependable and consistent group of voters,” says Kathleen S. Connell, state director of AARP Rhode Island told All About Seniors.

“It is important that seniors exercise the power of the ballot box to convey the message that the time for action is now,” adds Connell.

The political fate of gubernatorial, congressional and state-wide candidates may well rest in the hands of AARP Rhode Island, which is now mobilizing its 125,000 members to get out and vote next month.

Combine the successful Senior Agenda/Election 2002 Project, recently spearheaded by the Gray Panthers of Rhode Island, working in collaboration with the Rhode Island Minority Elder Task Force, and hundreds of thousands of Ocean State seniors have become a knowledgeable and educated voter block.

Understanding the immediate and future needs of Rhode Island seniors may well become the ticket to statewide or national office inside the Capitol Beltway, when the dust settles after the  Nov. 5 election.

AARP Sets Up Shop Here in Rhode Island

Published in Pawtucket Times on February 11, 2002

Up until last year, the American Association of Retired Persons operated a regional office in Boston, just a 45-minute drive from the Ocean State. The closing of the Boston regional office cleared the way for the nation’s largest group serving people ages 50-plus to open up a state office in Rhode Island.

With a state office up and running, AARP will better serve its 17 Rhode Island chapters, whose membership now totals more than 129,000 persons.

With AARP’s new office at 10  Orms St., Providence, Rhode Island has become one of the last remaining offices to open a local office.

“We’re happy as quahogs in our new digs.” This quote, superimposed on dozens of quahogs, decorates the front cover of AARP’s open house invitation.

The design sets the stage for last week’s Ocean State bash to celebrate the opening of AARP’s plush 4,200-square-foot Providence office. The opening reception, featuring a sampling of Rhode Island delicacies from each region of the state, reinforced the point AARP was trying to make – that its new home is Rhode Island.

One hundred and fifty people came to AARP Rhode Island’s grand opening bash, including AARP chapter presidents and volunteers, elected state officials and lawmakers, staff from the state’s various Congressional delegation and representatives of a myriad of aging organizations.

For more than two hours, they mingled and enjoyed the plentiful food and drink whipped up and served by Eastside Catering. Many even took tours of the new office, as well.

“Having an office in our capital city sends a message to our members and community partners that we are raising the visibility of AARP in Rhode Island and intend to rev up our advocacy and educational initiatives throughout the state,” said State AARP Director Kathleen S. Connell, welcoming the crowd of well-wishers.

Providence Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci brought his official greets to AARP’s gathering, too.

“It’s cause for great celebration that we now have direct representation in Providence of one of the most effective and beneficial associations advocating for retired persons in the world today,” Cianci told the crowd gathered in the packed conference room.

Cianci can be a tough act to follow, but AARP National Board Member Virginia Tierney, held her own.

Tierney, who came from Quincy, Mass. To attend the festivities, gave her thumbs up to the office’s opening.

“Having a state office will speak to an ongoing priority for our organization -diversity,’ she said, noting that with offices in every state, the group can better position itself to reach people ages 50-plus from all walks of life. “AARP’s membership should mirror the rest of our population.”

With the conclusion of AARP’s 20-minute speaking program, a 6-foot ribbon held by AARP staffers was cut by Cianci, who  was surrounded by Tierney, Secretary of State Ed Inman, General Treasurer Paul Tavares, and acting State President Virgilio DeVecchis.

So, what’s so special about AARP’s new “digs?”

AARP’s new office, right across from the Providence Marriott Hotel, has a very large conference room with video tele-conferencing capabilities. This room, is large enough to fit  30 people around a large rectangular conference table. Got room for an educational program or large meeting?  No problem. The space allows for the setting up of 100 chairs theater-style.

Meanwhile, a smaller conference room provides ample space to meet in small groups. Additionally, another small room is equipped with multiple phone hookups to allow AARP staffers and volunteers to use in their advocacy efforts and for compiling information through phone surveys. AARP’s four staffers each have an office with one office available for use by visiting AARP Regional and National Staff.

AARP’s office is colorfully decorated. Wall-to-wall mulberry-colored carpet, dark stained wood along the grayish walls, a teal-colored sofa and chairs in the reception area and heavy dark-stained office furniture throughout the office to create a traditional, conservative look.

Colorful prints provided by the Rhode Island School of Design’s Museum of Arts adorn the grayish walls in the front office area.

“Great turnover,” said AARP volunteer Marie Kerr of Middletown.  The former school nurse and teacher states that AARP members now have a home to come to. “It’s a good location, too, for statewide meetings,” she says.

Volunteer Mary Garrett, a former special education teacher from Newport, adds that the new office is a great place for AARP Members to gather with peers.