Your AARP ; Pennsylvania News
Diverse groups growing rapidly
New Chapters Fill a Niche
When Senn Fontanilla became an AARP member, he figured it was just a way to get insurance. But
today, the 56-year-old recruits members of his
tight-knit Filipino American community to
join AARP’s Olde City Philadelphia Chapter
5435, which he helped found a year ago.
The Filipino community usually gathers
for lunch after Sunday Mass at St. Augus-
tine and Our Lady of Hope churches in
“Hey, get involved,” he tells his Filipino
friends. “Take some information. Tell your
parents.” During Filipino Night at a 76ers
game in March, he handed out AARP bro-
chures from a booth in the concourse.
Fontanilla’s group is one of several
chapters that have cropped up since AARP
stepped up its outreach to diverse communities. More than a dozen of Pennsylvania’s
135 chapters consist primarily of members
of various ethnic groups.
“The special-interest chapters are growing,” said Ray Landis, advocacy manager
of AARP Pennsylvania. “People have said,
‘This is really something that would work
well in our community.’ ”
New Hispanic chapter
Jousette Anaya decided to start a chapter
after Grace Rustia, AARP Pennsylvania
associate state director for community outreach, mentioned that Pennsylvania didn’t
have a Hispanic chapter.
“What do you mean?” said Anaya. “That
cannot be.” She helped form the Northern
Liberties Chapter of Philadelphia, which
holds meetings in English, with Spanish
translation as needed.
“AARP has a lot of information and ser-
vices that Latinos don’t know about,” said
Anaya. “There is a gap of information.”
Anaya refers low-income Hispanic seniors
to free meal programs and tells them about
proposed legislation that would affect issues
such as utility rates and Social Security. The
chapter has only 35 members, but it has
“Everyone, including the politicians,
knows I am the chapter president,” she
said. “They just walk up to me on the street
all the time. We are the information center.”
In June, as part of a statewide AARP lob-
bying effort, Anaya accompanied a group of
members to Harrisburg to meet with legis-
lators and press for reforms on utility rates,
long-term care and other key issues.
Anaya figures she is educating herself
about matters that will become relevant to her in the coming years. So does
Fontanilla, who is concerned about his
own Social Security benefits as well as
issues affecting his 93-year-old mother and
88-year-old father.
A warm glow
Some chapters revolve around interests,
not ethnic backgrounds. In western Pennsylvania, many chapters have rallied around
gift giving through a community service
project called Presents for Patients.
In 2010, volunteers knitted and distributed small lap afghans as well as gift packages
containing toiletries or stuffed animals and
other items to 2,355 nursing home residents
at 20 sites in the region.
“You hold their hand. You tell them who
you are,” said Pat Domachowski, the AARP
liaison for Allegheny County and coordina-
tor for Greene County. “You present the
gift, whether it is a lap robe or a stuffed ani-
mal. A lot of them don’t have any family.”
Domachowski, 69, remembers the time
four years ago she handed a man in a nurs-
ing home a gift and said, “Oh, dear heart,
how are you today?”
The man grabbed her hand and said, “I
wanted to tell you that no one has called me
‘dear heart’ since my wife died 20 years ago.”
She walked out of the nursing home with
a warm glow inside, thinking to herself, “I
am in the right line doing things for AARP.”
—By Cristina Rouvalis
aarp.org/states
For other state news, go to
; DatabankUSA
The estimated dollar value of a volunteer hour for
each state, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands for 2009.
Value of Volunteers
Ala. $17.70
Alaska
21. 38
Ariz.
19.48
Ark.
16. 24
Calif.
23.42
Colo.
21.62
Conn.
26.98
Del.
21.88
D.C. 32.79
Fla.
18. 40
Ga.
19.94
Hawaii
17.94
Idaho
15.57
Ill.
22. 34
Ind.
17.61
Iowa
16.77
Kan.
17.80
Ky.
17. 37
La.
18.71
Maine
16.53
SOURCE:
INDEPENDENT
SECTOR;
* VALUE IS BASED
ON THE AVERAGE
WAGE OF NON-MANAGEMEN T,
NON-AGRICULTURAL
WORKERS, NOT
EARNING POWER
OF SPECIALIZED
SKILLED WORKERS
SUCH AS DOCTORS
OR LAW YERS.
