PRESS RELEASE from AARP

April 25, 2007

AARP Launches Divided We Fail Grassroots Issues Campaign in Nevada to Spur Action on Health Care, Lifetime Financial Security
Extensive rural campaign to capture Nevada Voices for Change

America’s largest advocacy organization, with 38 million members including 317,000 Nevadans, today launched the Nevada-specific effort for the most ambitious campaign in AARP’s 49-year history.

AARP National President and Glenbrook Nevada resident Erik Olsen joined AARP Nevada State President Marlene Rengert and AARP State Director Carla Sloan to address the lively group gathered in Carson City to hear details about the campaign, developed to amplify the voices of everyday Nevadans who believe that health and lifetime financial security are the foundation of the American Dream and as such are the most pressing domestic issues facing our nation.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio (R-Washoe, District 3) and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus (D-Clark, District 7) as well as Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley (D-Clark, District 8) and Assembly Minority Leader Garn Mabey (R-Clark, District 2) made brief comments on the importance of bipartisan solutions to these challenges—both at the national and state level.

In his remarks, Olsen assured the assembled crowd that, “AARP will do whatever it takes to preserve the American Dream for all generations. We believe very strongly that AARP’s obligation to the future doesn’t end with people 50+. We view our obligation as applying to all generations, to all Americans.”

In Nevada, the Divided We Fail campaign will include a listening tour - Nevada Voices for Change which is being scheduled over the next several months in communities throughout the state—from Winnemucca to Boulder City and from Carson City to Ely, AARP will facilitate conversations and capture the stories of Nevadans who fear that the next generation will be worse off than the last unless our nation’s leaders address these issues.

“We hope that these conversations with everyday Nevadans will inspire people to visit the dividedwefail.org website to become a Divided We Fail voter, tell their story and get involved in the caucus activities of their respective party,” said Sloan.

The campaign will include extensive coalition building with other health advocacy organizations, business groups and others to expand the network involved in the effort. AARP has also trained nearly 50 Nevada volunteers to speak out on these issues at events that presidential candidates attend in Nevada, in an effort to track the candidates, encourage them to take stands on the issues and commit to work together for bi-partisan solutions to these concerns.

The Divided We Fail campaign launch took place in the Capitol Grounds Amphitheater as an old-time political campaign kickoff complete with red, white and blue bunting and balloons, Dixieland Jazz Band, barbeque, and speeches on the importance of bipartisan solutions to our nation’s most pressing domestic issues—health care and lifetime financial security.

“In a recent Nevada AARP member survey, 58 percent said they always voted in state elections and another 18 percent said they vote most of the time,” said Sloan. “We expect that AARP’s efforts to raise member awareness on these issues will make a difference in the upcoming caucuses.”

All AARP members in the state will receive information and opportunities to participate in the campaign through our quarterly Nevada Update newsletter, as well as the AARP Bulletin, the bilingual AARP publication, Segunda Juventud, online information through our websites and email distribution lists and finally through an extensive media campaign that includes: television, radio and print advertising and media outreach; billboards, event sponsorship and a host of other tactics designed to inform members and the general public regarding AARP’s efforts.

More information about these efforts can be found at the newly launched website, www.dividedwefail.org and on the Nevada AARP webpage at www.aarp.org/nv.

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. We produce AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our bimonthly magazine in Spanish and English; NRTA Live & Learn, our quarterly newsletter for 50+ educators; and our website, www.aarp.org. The AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.