Latest news with #Minter-Jordan
CBS News
13-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBS News
AARP and the business of an aging audience
Drew Barrymore is beloved for her youthful energy. She also just turned 50 — and landed on the cover of AARP: The Magazine. "Everyone keeps telling me that this magical age of 50 is when you really start to let go of things, and I would love that to be true," Barrymore said on the set of her talk show, "The Drew Barrymore Show." Aging is a tricky business, but it is the business of AARP. The non-profit magazine's readership is staggering: nearly 40 million people. The average issue's audience is the largest for any print publication in America. "In the magazine, what we're trying to say is, 'We get you,'" said Myrna Blyth, AARP's 86-year-old editorial director. "We're going to talk about things that matter to you, because you matter." Advertisers and celebrities recognize the power of older Americans. "How did you get Bob Dylan to be on the cover?" I asked Blyth. "He called us and asked us," she said. "He called the editor." In 1958, educator Ethel Percy Andrus founded AARP after growing alarmed about the struggles facing older people. She once said , "We're all growing old at the same rate, and, you know, it's comforting to know that time just can't be managed." Myechia Minter-Jordan is now the CEO. She said there is "definitely" still a sense of alarm about the state of affairs for older Americans. "We represent 110 million Americans who are in the 50-plus demographic," said Minter-Jordan. "People are living longer, they're staying in the workforce longer, and so the needs are changing. But the needs are still urgent." In 1999, AARP stopped being "The American Association of Retired Persons" and became just the acronym. While it is non-partisan, it's not immune from controversy. Over the years, it has been criticized, from the left and right, for its lobbying efforts. "Our members are most worried about Medicare, Social Security and family caregiving," Minter-Jordan said. "They're very concerned. This is something that people are earning their entire life, they're paying into for Social Security. And they're very concerned about their access to that." Regarding family caregiving, Minter-Jordan said the magazine has heard "more and more" from people in "the sandwich generation," who simultaneously take care of younger children and their aging parents, and deal with the financial hardships that can bring. As for the future, it's about welcoming new generations. And Drew Barrymore is excited about everything to come. "I had never thought about the concept of retirement," Barrymore said. "Because I started working at 11 months old, and I'm still working, I've never known what life is like without that. So, it seems like an exciting prospect, but things are so good right now that I don't want to be un-appreciating everything that's happening in my life right now." Although Barrymore doesn't expect to retire any time soon, she added, "it's something that I get excited about dancing with in some ballroom one night, like this new stranger will walk in and sweep me off my feet and his name will be, Retirement."
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Families take on labor and costs of caring for their aging loved ones
Since 2017, three generations have taken care of Gladys Ortiz, an 83-year-old woman who lives in Miami and struggles with Parkinson's and dementia. Among them is her daughter, Yanira Portuondo, who views being a caregiver for Ortiz as a second, full-time job. "She's having hallucinations. Sometimes she doesn't recognize me. There are days that, going from the living room to the bathroom, she gets lost," Portuondo said. Without help, Portuondo says her mom "wouldn't last a week by herself." The family is luckier than some. Medicaid pays for a home care aide to pitch in 38 hours a week. But that still leaves 130 hours in a week — every week — where the family's spending time and money on her care. "Everyone has a life of their own, of course, but the priority is making sure she's okay. We try to make sure that everybody's needs have been met," Portuondo 70% of Americans aged 65 and older will require some form of long-term care during their lifetime, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — and the cost of this type of care will likely be difficult to pay out of pocket for many Americans. "If you're not a caregiver, you'll either need caregiving or you'll become a caregiver," said Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan, the CEO of AARP. That's why the issue is one of the organization's top priorities. "I definitely think it's a crisis. How do I make decisions about their care? How do I have the financial means to be able to do this?" Minter-Jordan said. In the U.S., family caregivers, on average, spend a quarter of their income taking care of loved ones, according to AARP. Some states are looking to help ease the burden. In 2023, Washington state added a payroll tax, money now used to fund long-term care insurance for its residents. A dozen other states are considering variations of long-term care taxes. AARP is also advocating for a $5,000 federal tax credit to benefit caregiving families. "It's not going away, and the problem is only going to increase," Minter-Jordan said. Meanwhile, Portuondo worries about the future — in 20 years, will her daughter have to care for her? "I could never have imagined I would be in this position ever," Portuondo said. "Most of the time, I'm exhausted. But every time she gives me one of those smiles, you know, it gives me a little strength to keep going." For millions of American families, caregiving is a labor of love that can demand every bit of both. U.S. Marine Band forced to cancel concert with students of color after Trump DEI order Restoring classic cars in the classroom How DOGE cuts are jeopardizing our national parks
Boston Globe
17-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Myechia Minter-Jordan heads to D.C. to lead the AARP, advocate for Social Security
Minter-Jordan started in the chief executive job in November, taking over for Jo Ann Jenkins , leading an organization with around 39 million members, about 2,700 employees, and annual revenue of $1.7 billion. She said she took the job in part because it would allow her to have an even broader national impact than where she previously worked, the CareQuest Institute for Oral Health . But doing so means she'll leave Boston: She already has a home in Washington, where AARP is headquartered, and is putting her family's West Roxbury home on the market. Advertisement She'll miss the incredible network she established in Boston, led by other prominent people of color such as Bennie Wiley and Carol Fulp . Minter-Jordan moved here in 2007 from Baltimore to be chief medical officer at the Dimock Center in Roxbury, and eventually became its chief executive. She also became a mover and shaker in Boston, and helped launch the New Commonwealth Fund for racial equity and social justice in 2020. Boston, she said, can be a hard place to break into as an executive, because it's a city with a firmly entrenched power structure. Advertisement 'I'm grateful for all the support I received from many of those people,' Minter-Jordan said of her Boston network. 'When you have that network, it really supports you as a leader.' A win for Corporate Boston Boston Mayor Michelle Wu was at the grand opening of The Lyndia, New England's largest permanent supportive housing development, in Jamaica Plain. She was greeted by Lyndia Downie, president and executive director of the Pine Street Inn. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff The grand opening of a 202-unit apartment building in Jamaica Plain last week marked a big victory for Lyndia Downie , her team at the Pine Street Inn , and her development partners at The Community Builders . After all, with 140 apartments for people who will continue to receive support from Pine Street Inn as they move out of homelessness, It also represented a victory for Corporate Boston — by showing what can happen when many of the city's largest employers band together. Corporate donors kicked in more than $6 million toward a $10 million initiative known as the Way Home Fund, providing financial support for services at the JP building that range from helping people establish credit scores to ensuring they're current with medical appointments. The initiative began as then-mayor Martin J. Walsh started his second term as mayor in 2018. He led the effort to prod some big names to open their checkbooks, Downie said. Five committed to $1 million each: MassMutual , Bank of America , Liberty Mutual , Mass General Brigham , and Suffolk Construction . Other donors included TD Bank , Eastern Bank , Eversource , Related Beal , and Natixis . (Separately from the fund, developer HYM Investment Group kicked in $5 million as a linkage payment to the city, to help win approval for its massive Advertisement While he knows of examples in other US cities, The Community Builders chief executive Bart Mitchell said this is the first time he's seen a corporate fund-drive of this scope for a project like this in Boston. TCB developed the $105 million project and assembled the financing, which included money from federal tax credit investors as well as state and city subsidies. Formerly homeless residents in the 140 units pay one-third of their income for rent; the 62 remaining units in the building (dubbed 'The Lyndia' in honor of Downie's career fighting homelessness as Pine Street Inn's president) are available at subsidized rates to lower-income earners. The 166,000-square-foot 'The opening of the JP building, it really was a huge community effort,' Downie said. 'It is the best of who we are, in my opinion, when we can make all these things happen, and get at a really sticky problem. The fact that the corporations are willing to support this, it gives us a lot of confidence in the model and confidence that maybe we can replicate this.' Betting on bricks at Legacy Place Halloween Crawl for a Cause at Legacy Place in Dedham features trick-or-treating for the family and specialty beverages for the adults. Brad Bahner/Brad Bahner/Legacy Place Ron Dickerman always figured he would return to Massachusetts after leaving for business school at Columbia University in the 1980s. Instead, he stayed in New York, first working in investment banking, and then in private equity. But the Lexington native does return for one important reason: to shop for real estate investment opportunities. Dickerman just inked a deal for his private equity firm, Madison International Realty , to buy a 50 percent stake in Legacy Place , the nearly 500,000-square-foot open-air shopping center in Dedham. Dickerman's firm acquired the stake held by Nuveen in the partnership that owns Legacy Place, for an undisclosed amount. The other partners are WS Development and the Redstone family's National Amusements Inc. , which jointly developed the project more than 15 years ago. (Madison and WS are also partners in MarketStreet Lynnfield , and Madison also is investing in lab developer IQHQ 's Fenway Center project.) Advertisement Despite the rise of online shopping, Dickerman is still a big believer in bricks-and-mortar. He notes that Legacy draws regular customers from as far away as 30 miles, because of the tenant mix — it's essentially full — and the experience. The retail sector appears to be stabilizing, particularly because so few new shopping centers were built across the country in recent years. 'There's been so much dislocation with Amazon and home delivery,' Dickerman said. 'In our view, retail is finally starting to catch an equilibrium.' Crossing out X from PR strategy A local PR firm is recommending that municipal and public safety clients phase out their use of X (formerly known as Twitter). Tuane Fernandes/Bloomberg Scratch X, formerly known as Twitter, off the list of social media sites for local publicity firm John Guilfoil Public Relations . JGPR sent out an email last month announcing it would no longer recommend the site to its public safety clients. The reason? It has nothing to do with the controversies surrounding owner Elon Musk and his chaotic attempts to dismantle much of the federal government. Instead, the site simply isn't getting anywhere near the engagement levels it once did. Founder John Guilfoil said a survey by his firm drew responses from nearly 150 police, fire, and municipal government agencies across the country, along with 17 news outlets, from mid-December to mid-February. Nearly 40 percent said their use of Twitter/X has greatly decreased in the past two years, and roughly three-fourths said they interact with a member of the public on it less than once a month. 'We would have been measuring that in a matter of minutes or hours with a client five years ago,' he said. Advertisement One big reason: In early 2023, soon after Musk's buyout, Twitter announced it would no longer grant users free access to its Application Programming Interface platform, making it more difficult to use, particularly with other digital tools. Guilfoil still recommends that clients use Facebook , and LinkedIn is helpful because it's usually not blocked by workplace firewalls. While he said the survey has been accused of being part of a left-wing conspiracy, he simply wants to be an effective communications rep for clients. 'History tells us,' Guilfoil says, 'that every one of these internet services will eventually disappear and die.' Jon Chesto can be reached at
