When people find themselves suddenly senior, there can
be a wide variety of reactions. Some take it in stride and enjoy perks such
as discounted food and cheaper movie tickets.
Others warm up to the idea more slowly � but, still,
the discounts and other niceties make it a little easier to handle.
Many senior citizens today are taking advantage of
technology that can make life easier. Studies show that the top three
subjects of interest to people over age 55 are travel destinations,
retirement planning, and genealogy research. Forget shuffleboard,
needlepoint, and bingo. Today�s senior citizens are utilizing the Internet
for banking, blogging, buying, searching, selling, communicating,
contributing, learning, and reading. In short, they�re staying connected.
The World Wide Web is a great resource for issues
facing those in their golden years. Here are a few websites that exist
solely to help senior citizens and their families enhance the quality of
their lives in a variety of ways.
American Association
of Retired Persons
www.aarp.org
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization
for people age 50 and older. The organization leads positive social change
and delivers value to members through information, advocacy and service.
AARP also provides a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and
services for its members.
Genealogy
www.usgenweb.org
The USGenWeb Project is run by a group of volunteers
working to provide free websites for genealogical research in every county
and every state in the United States. This project is non-
commercial and fully committed to free genealogy access
for everyone. Organization is by county and state, and this website provides
visitors with links to all the state genealogy websites that, in turn,
provide gateways to the counties.
Legal Info for Senior Citizens
www.nsclc.org
The National Senior Citizens Law Center advocates before
courts, Congress, and federal agencies to promote the independence and
well-being of low-income elderly and disabled Americans. Visit this website
for more information on issues that affect seniors, such as federal rights,
Medicaid, Medicare, nursing facilities, and Social Security.
Travel
www.roadscholar.org
Discover more than 8,000 �learning adventures� in all 50
states and more than 90 countries abroad. RoadScholar offers in-depth and
behind-the-scenes learning experiences for almost every interest and
ability. History, culture, nature, music, outdoor activities such as walking
and biking, individual skills, crafts, study cruises -- enjoy these and many
more with the not-for-profit leader in educational travel.
Options For Older People
www.housingcare.org
This is a website for older individuals, their families,
caregivers, advisors, and all those who work with and for them. Regardless
of age, circumstances or ambitions, this website will help individuals
explore options before making decisions about where to live, and any support
or care needed.
National Council on Aging
www.ncoa.org
The National Council on Aging (NCOA) is dedicated to
improving the health and independence of older persons and increasing their
continuing contributions to communities, society, and future generations.
NCOA�s programs help older people remain healthy, find jobs, discover new
ways to contribute after retirement, and take advantage of government and
private benefits programs that can improve the quality of their lives.
MedLine Plus
www.medlineplus.gov
MedlinePlus can help answer many health questions. This
resource brings together authoritative information from government agencies
and health-related organizations.
Alliance for Retired Americans
www.retiredamericans.org
The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to
ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so
that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and
security.
Better Medicine
www.localhealth.com
This website contains a disease and symptom research
center that has information on over 3,000 different medical conditions, with
more being added all the time.
Stamps, Cards & Groceries
There are a number of websites that can help senior
citizens conduct day-to-day business from the comfort of their own homes.
Avoid leaving the house to pick up stamps and other mailing supplies by
ordering them online at www.usps.com.
Need a quick way to send cards to the grandchildren? At
www.cardsremembered.com, you can have a paper greeting card delivered with
your own personal message (in a number of different realistic cursive fonts)
with only a few clicks of the mouse.
