AARP Bulletin - September 2010

In the News ;
33 Percentage of workers in home health care services who are uninsured.

; Now Hear This
People, Trends and Ideas
Crop Mobs Come to the Rescue

Here’s a new twist on communities uniting to help farmers: crop mobs,
or volunteers who gather to do whatever a
farmer wants or needs, from planting and
weeding to clearing a pasture. ; The idea
sprouted in 2008 when some North Caro-
lina farmers met and decided to support
one another by working once a month on
each other’s farms. By last February, the
first crop mob had assisted 1 5 farms. The
farmers, some who are age 50-plus, pro-
vide lunch in exchange for the free labor.
; The idea has spread among socially
networked foodies in-
terested in supporting
small-scale farming.
Nearly 40 crop mobs
exist nationwide. ; A recent DC Crop
Mob gathering drew almost two dozen
volunteers to a farm in Brookeville, Md.
Among them were Veronica Murphy, 58,
and her husband, Peter, 57, of Washing-
ton. ; “What could be better—there’s food
and it’s outside,” she said. ; For more in-
formation about crop mobs, go to www
. cropmob.org. —Frank McCoy
Buckle Up
For years, it took actors Tony Reitano and
Whitney Rydbeck almost an hour to don cos-
tumes that transformed them into the poster
boys for seat belt safety. They were “Vince
and Larry,” the crash-test dummies in TV
ads in the 1980s and ’90s. Now 50-plus, the
duo will see their costumes, “body parts” and
props become part of a research collection on
the evolution of auto safety at the Smithso-
nian National Museum of American History
in Washington. “Re-creating a collision not
only was sobering but persuaded viewers
that it was extremely risky not to wear seat
belts,” says associate curator Roger White.
; Volunteers
wash gourds at
a farm near D.C.

The Alzheimer’s Disease Coopera- tive Study is distributing quilts to
volunteers participating in research
studies to find a cure. Funded by the
National Institute on Aging, ADCS
coordinates clinical trials at about 70
sites nationwide. Over 3,000 people participate in the stud-
ies and receive treatment with experimental drugs. ; The
Alzheimer’s Study Quilt Project aims to express appreciation
to the volunteers, all of whom have mild to moderate cognitive
impairment. “What do any of us do when we don’t feel well?”
asks ADCS communications specialist Je;ree Itrich. “You curl
up with a quilt, because it soothes the body and the soul.”
; The project seeks lap-size quilts, rectangular or square,
between 40 and 60 inches per side. For information, e-mail
adcs-quilts@ucsd.edu or call 858-677-1565. —Trish Nicholson

Man on a Mission
New York educator Geoffrey
Canada has made great strides
in helping inner-city children
stay in school with his innova-
tive work as CEO and president
of the Harlem Children’s Zone.
Canada’s creative approaches
will be featured in a new documentary, Waiting for
“Superman,” opening in theaters nationwide in
October. The movie, which received the Audience
Award at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, exam-
ines public education in America. “There is a crisis
in education,” says Canada, 58. “The documentary
shows that something can be done ... and that citi-
zens have to take action.”
Comfort for
Alzheimer’s
Study
Volunteers
Live Long and Prosper
Good genes may beat lifestyle when it comes
to your chances of living to be 100. Recent
findings by Boston University School of Pub-
lic Health scientists, published in Science,
could lead to developing a genetic test that
predicts exceptional longevity. “I am particu-
larly interested in the public health implica-
tions of this study and what we can learn from
centenarians to help the general population
age in a healthy way,” says lead reseacher
and geneticist Paola Sebastiani. —Mike Tucker

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ANDREW CUTRARO/REDUX; HUGH TALMAN/SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION; JOHN SHEARER/GETTY IMAGES; COURTESY ALZHEIMER’S STUDY QUILT PROJECT