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Date: April 27, 1995
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
Contact:  Moya Benoit Thompson, AoA
          Claudia Cummings, (202) 401-4541

Rosalynn Carter and Liz Carpenter to Kick Off
Older Americans Month

HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala will honor former first lady Rosalynn Carter and Liz Carpenter, former press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson, at the Administration on Aging's May 2 event to kick off Older Americans Month. Joining Secretary Shalala will be Fernando M. Torres-Gil, assistant secretary for aging.

Mrs. Carter's recently-released book, "Helping Yourself Help Others," has once again distinguished the former first lady as an advocate for the great number of Americans who serve as caregivers to their aging relatives. Ms. Carpenter, author, lecturer and now caregiver to two nieces and a nephew, has recently written a book entitled "Unplanned Parenthood: The Confessions of a Seventysomething Surrogate Mother." Her story brings national attention to the struggle of the growing number of grandparents raising children.

Awards of recognition will also be presented to three older Americans from the Washington, D.C., area who continue to enhance the lives of older Americans or to promote intergenerational understanding through their life's work. They are Mr. Morton Davis of Silver Spring, Md., Mr. Osvaldo Espada of Potomac, Md., and Ms. Dorothy Porter Wesley of Washington, D.C. These three individuals and the contributions they have made for their communities exemplify this year's Older Americans Month theme: "Aging: Generations of Experience."

May is traditionally designated Older Americans Month by the President in recognition of the contributions and achievements of older Americans. This year's Older Americans Month marks the 30th anniversary of the Older Americans Act, Medicare and Medicaid, and the 60th anniversary of Social Security. It also marks the convening of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging, authorized by the 1992 Amendments to the Older Americans Act and scheduled to be held May 2-5 in Washington, D.C.

The Older Americans Act was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 and created the U.S. Administration on Aging and its many programs designed to ensure the most basic needs of our nation's older citizens are met. AoA serves as the leading advocate for older Americans at the federal level.

The kick-off event is being held in the Great Hall of the Hubert H. Humphrey Building on Tuesday, May 2, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. Members of the general public and the media are invited to attend.

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