AARP Bulletin - January 2011

In the News ;
29.7 Average national volunteer rate for boomers between 2007 and 2009.
Your Tax Refund as U.S. Savings Bonds
When you file your 2010 tax return, you’ll be
able to turn refund money
into U.S. savings bonds and
share the wealth as a gift to
a loved one. ; The Series I
bonds, which you can also
buy for yourself, are sold
in increments of $50 and
delivered by mail in paper
form. To buy them, include
Form 8888 with your tax
return. ; Interest
will accrue at an
inflation-adjusted
rate that will reset
every six months.

; Now Hear This People, Trends and Ideas
She’s a Survivor
Judging from her Facebook page, Al-
ice Herz-Sommer is an inspiration to
many. The 107-year-old Londoner, once
a concert pianist in Central Europe, is
believed to be the oldest living survi-
vor of the Holocaust. A documentary
about her life, Alice Dancing Under
the Gallows, is in the works for release
later this year. Herz-Sommer, who per-
formed more than 100 concerts while in
a concentration camp, says she refuses
to hate those who imprisoned her and
her family: “I … have lost everything, in-
cluding my husband, my mother and
my beloved son [who died in 2001],”
she says. “Yet, life is beautiful.”
Farewell, Mr. Goodwrench
He’s hawked General Motors parts and
service since the mid-1970s, sponsored
NASCAR racing, and has been parodied by
comedians Stephen Colbert and Jay Leno.
But the iconic Mr. Goodwrench will be no
more. A leaner GM says Mr. Goodwrench
will be replaced Feb. 1 by new brand-specific
labels, such as Chevrolet Certified Service.
GM has closed Pontiac, Hummer, Saab and
Saturn and wants to focus marketing and
advertising dollars on its surviving brands—
Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.
; Pianist Alice Herz-Sommer
Salute to Disabled Vets
More than 3 million disabled vets
will be honored when the planned
American Veterans Disabled for Life
Memorial is finished. A groundbreak-
ing was recently held on a two-acre
triangular site near the U.S. Capitol in
Washington. The memorial “expresses
our pride, our love and our respect for
the service, integrity and courage of
America’s disabled veterans,” says Rick
Fenstermacher, CEO of the memorial
foundation. The $86 million marble,
bronze and glass tribute, to be com-
pleted in about two years, will feature
a star-shaped fountain. —Mike Tucker