AARP Arizona News

AARP Arizona, 201 East Washington Street, Suite 1795, AARP Arizona State Office, AZ 85004

(Tucson, AZ) -- On a hot summer’s day in Tucson, volunteers at the AARP Tucson Information Center are busy answering telephone calls and offering personalized service to seniors who need to find information on anything from Medicare and Social Security to driver safety and long term care. "It never stops," says Lewis Rothstein, AARP Tucson Information Center Lead Coordinator, "but we’re glad for it, because we like it that way."

The recently relocated information center for AARP reopened at its new North Oracle Road location last fall. Since then, about 20 volunteers are involved in staffing the center, which now handles more than 200 telephone calls a month and dozens of walk-ins. "The word is getting around that AARP has a local presence in Tucson and its bringing people in, especially with AARP’s recent work on Social Security and prescription drugs in Medicare."

But there is another reason so many seniors are finding their way to the center. It’s because volunteers there have decided to help older people find jobs. The center’s newly established Senior Employment Referral Service was started by Rothstein. "I spent many years helping seniors find jobs as part of AARP’s Senior Community Service Employment Program in Cleveland and I knew we could do something similar here at the Tucson center," said Rothstein.

Once the program was launched, volunteers at the center who specialized in computer programming began developing a customized database that would help them match jobs with qualified candidates. "Our database is a great tool to say the least," said Rothstein, "because it makes it relatively easy for us to match applicants with jobs that are best suited for them." The database provides a complete breakdown by job, expertise and field, combined with a comprehensive description of the job and a listing of employer contacts.

"We’ve helped a lot of people find jobs since our service began," said Rothstein, "after all, seniors are good job candidates because they have a strong work ethic and they’re dependable and loyal. They also don’t miss work much, and they offer stability because of their maturity."

Currently, the Tucson Information Center has about 140 seniors registered in its program. Most of the job referral listings are in the service and administrative sectors. "We’re looking for more employers to partner with us and provide us with positions to fill," added Rothstein, "many of our applicants have college degrees and expertise in a variety of fields. As a result, we have the ability to fill all types of jobs with qualified seniors."

Employers and people interested in finding out more about the AARP Tucson Information Center’s Senior Employment Referral Service can call (520) 571-9884. The AARP Tucson Information Center is located at 6700 N. Oracle Road, Suite 331 and is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.