On Nov. 4, the N.C. AARP awarded Doris Uliss the 2009 AARP Legacy Award at its Volunteer and Chapter Appreciation Luncheon at Carrabbas Restaurant in Matthews.
Uliss is a registered nurse with a long career in hospitals and schools in New Jersey and North Carolina. She has volunteered with the AARP Health Specialist Team and is a Master Trainer. The team provides caregiver courses for chronic disease self-management.
She volunteers with the Centralina Council on Aging, and has contributed many years of fundraising for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Uliss said she is honored to be part of the Health Specialist Team and to have the opportunity to serve as a volunteer with AARP.
Jerry Shelby of the Salisbury-Rowan AARP chapter was the 2008 Legacy Award Recipient.
Diana D. Hatch, AARP North Carolina state president, announced a new national AARP initiative called Create the Good, a campaign to get seniors involved as volunteers to make a difference in their communities. Information on the program is available at www.CreatetheGood.org.
Many categories of volunteers were acknowledged at the luncheon, including:- Project CARE (Caregivers’ Alternative to Running on Empty), which provides respite opportunities for caregivers looking after seniors with dementia.
– Prepare to Care assists people with managing their prescription medications.
– Tax-Aide volunteers provide free tax preparation services for low- and moderate-income people 60 and over. For more information, go to www.AARP.org/taxaide.
– Consumer education efforts focused on fraud prevention. Scam Jam volunteers work with state agencies and local police to alert seniors to frauds and scams that could cost them money and even their identity.
– Health promotion volunteers organize walking programs and health fairs.
– Driver safety programs ó more than 1,000 North Carolina seniors participated in the four-hour course to improve safe driving. The Salisbury-Rowan chapter was recognized for providing the three-tier program in October, including Driver Safety, We Need to Talk and CarFit.
– Local chapters are involved in providing transportation, in-home aid, food delivery, humane society efforts and other services to communities and seniors.
The Salisbury Rowan AARP chapter invites adults 50 and over to join. Annual dues for the local chapter are $3. Meetings are the first Thursday of the month at 1 p.m. at Rufty-Holmes Senior Center, 1120 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. A light snack is provided following the meeting. Guests are welcome.