Jane Fonda is Back and She's Coming after You!

Wal-Mart Drug Plan May Not be Best for Everyone 50+

"Save an average of $450 a year", claims the website of the new Humana/Wal-Mart - Preferred Rx Plan. With the lowest monthly premium in the country ($14.80) and co-pays as low as $2.00 for generics filled at preferred pharmacies, the new Medicare prescription plan closing December 31st is getting a lot of attention. Why is it so cheap? One reason, experts say, is the plan's limited pharmacy network. If you don't live near a Wal-Mart or other preferred pharmacy and dislike mail order services you might want to do some homework before signing on. Read this article from Yahoo News for more guidance. 

Rediscover Your Spouse!

When Al and Tipper Gore announced their divorce earlier this year after 40 years of marriage a new term was born - gray divorce. It appears that breaking up after 20 or more years in a long-term partnership or marriage is on the rise, particularly among boomers. And the most common reason, according to a recent survey, is no longer sharing common interests.  

Is gray divorce a natural consequence of our changing times or can we learn to avoid it? In a recent article in The Positive Aging Newsletter authors Kenneth and Mary Gergen suggest that rediscovering our partner or spouse is a positive aging skill we all need to cultivate and they offer the following suggestions on how to get started: 

• Seek out new contexts of relating: travel, sports, hiking, theater
• Explore new relational activities: massage, cooking, gardening,
• Expand personal hobbies to include the other: golf, bridge, fishing
• Re-explore the past together, with particular sensitivity to possible re-ignitions of old feelings of joy and togetherness
• Explore the activities you once liked to do together, but which were abandoned for lack of time
• Allow one’s partner time and space for individual development and exploration, the results of which can later be shared
• Be on the lookout for contexts in which you can pleasantly surprise the other. If readers would like to share their own skills of re-discovery we would be happy to pass them on in future issues of the newsletter.

Your Boomer Gift Buying Guide

Delaware's Volunteering Report Card Out

The annual report card, "Volunteering in America", compiled from statistics gathered by the U.S. Census, is now available. There's good news for the nation as a whole. Volunteering increased from 2008 to 2009 and now stands at 26.8%. Utah (44.2%) once again has the highest rate of volunteering followed by Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and Alaska.

Delaware ranks 35th out of the states in volunteering with a rate of 25.3%. There are an estimated 172,200 volunteers in the First State whose contributions are valued at $469.3 million. According to the report, 27.7% of boomers (45-64) and 25.1% of older adults (65+) volunteer in Delaware.

Food Pantry Volunteer - St. Stephens, Wilmington

Volunteer in the busiest food pantry in the state of Delaware! Our pantry is open Monday through Friday, 9 AM to noon, and is staffed by 2-5 volunteers. We have over 35 volunteers that regularly work in the pantry, and most have been doing so for years. Volunteers help distribute emergency food to clients. They pack bags of groceries, receive food referrals over the phone, and give bags to clients. You can make a difference by volunteering just one morning a month from 9 AM to noon! We have many openings throughout the month. We are also looking for volunteer substitutes.

For more information, please call Aaron at Lutheran Community Services, 654-8886 x. 104 or via email at aballett@lcsde.org.

Community Disaster Education Volunteers

Help your local Red Cross communicate the importance of being prepared for emergencies to civic groups, church groups, companies and other organizations. Training is provided with the Be Red Cross Ready curriculum.Teach the three basic actions of Building a Kit, Making a Plan and Being Informed. Presentations can range from 15 minutes to an hour, depending on the group’s time frame. Volunteers are contacted for their availability to conduct presentations.Please contact Sarah Gilmour Manager, Volunteer Services at 302-472-6260 or www.redcrossdelmarva.org

Animal Caretaker

The Delaware Humane Association is accepting applications for animal caretakers. Animal caretakers feed and clean our resident animals and their living areas, provide them with exercise and socialization, administer medication, and monitor the kennel and cattery to ensure a clean, healthy, and welcoming environment for the animals and shelter visitors. Candidates should not have a fear or dislike of cats or dogs since they will be handling both, and should be prepared for physically demanding work, including the ability to lift up to 50 pounds.

If you are interested in applying for this position, please stop by the shelter and pick up an application, or contact David Owens, Animal Care Manager, at (302) 571-0111, ext, 313.