AARP Virginia Executive Council member Bobby Horne, left, congratulates Larry Eiben, President of the AARP Locust Grove Chapter.
AARP Virginia is pleased to announce that this year’s winner of the AARP Virginia Chapter Award is Locust Grove Chapter #5239.
Representatives of the chapter were recognized at an awards banquet during the AARP Virginia All Volunteer Assembly in Richmond on Nov. 12. This is the second year in a row the chapter has won the award.
The AARP Chapter Awards are meant to recognize the education, advocacy, and service work of chapters that contribute to achieving the AARP mission by highlighting outcomes and impacts on their communities regardless of the chapters size or demographic. These awards give chapters the opportunity to showcase their countless hours of service work devoted to the enhancing the experience of aging.
The chapter members, led by Chapter President Larry Eiben, provide service to their community in numerous ways, most notably with Woods Cares. Woods Cares is a group of AARP Chapter 5239 volunteers who help individuals within Lake of the Woods and surrounding community who are shut-ins, caregivers of shut-ins or anyone in need for some other reason. They have been serving community members for more than 16 years. There are currently 12 Chapter 5239 members who have volunteered with the program. Services provided have consisted of transporting seniors to doctor appointments, dialysis, grocery shopping, beauty appointments, or picking up prescriptions, groceries or other errands. Other helpful tasks have included simple plumbing repairs, small appliance repairs, picking up mail and transporting trash to the compactor. They also visit with shut-ins to give their caretakers a break.
Over the past year the Locust Grove Chapter has been heavily involved in its community by supporting shut-in members and their caregivers, offering free tax assistance to community members in need, providing weekly meals to the local county senior center through a “Meals on Wheels” program, and the chapter’s participation in numerous other community projects.
AARP Virginia held its annual All-Volunteer Assembly in Richmond on Nov. 12, where volunteers were lauded at a banquet. The All-Volunteer Assembly honors AARP Virginia’s most dedicated volunteers. AARP Virginia volunteers provide outreach and advocacy for more than one million AARP members in Virginia as well as all Virginians age 50+, and are committed to community service and helping everyone age with dignity and purpose.
