Senior Citizens, 1972-2010, Undated

During her retirement, Helen Quirini was extremely active in many organizations for senior citizens on local, statewide and national levels. In addition to work on behalf of the GE Retirees, she served for many years as president of Chapter 490 (Schenectady County) of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) and as president of the Schenectady County Council of Senior Organizations. The files contain meeting minutes, events materials, financial records, correspondence, newsletters and petitions from these two groups.

Her participation in the Schenectady County Council of Senior Organizations led in 1987 to her involvement with the StateWide Senior Action Council. Quirini served as an at-large board member and later as treasurer of StateWide. She received the Rose Kryzak Advocacy Award as a leader on public policy issues, both locally and statewide. A grassroots organization composed of individual senior citizens and senior citizen clubs from across New York, StateWide is involved in legislative issues and campaigned against Medicare cuts and mandatory retirements. The group fought for pharmaceutical insurance for the elderly, assistance for seniors with utility payments and greater protection of hospital patient rights. The files reflect StateWide’s advocacy activities and feature testimony, including Quirini’s, before legislative panels and materials from an annual Grassroots Senior Citizens Day which encouraged seniors to come to Albany to meet with elected representatives. There also are board meeting minutes, correspondence, convention booklets and materials from Quirini’s local chapter of the organization.

Quirini also joined the Public Service Commission’s Albany Area Senior Citizen Advisory Council in the mid-1980s. This group advised on customer expectations and utility needs from a senior’s perspective. One of key recurring issues was the increasing costs of telephone service. In 1992 this Advisory Council joined with other special needs consumer groups to form the Public Service Commission’s Capital District Utility Consumer Advisory Council. Quirini remained on this newly formed Council until at least 1993. Agendas, meeting minutes, notes, correspondence and reports from Quirini’s tenure on both Councils are present.

In addition to her work with area organizations, Quirini also became involved in national issues most relevant to seniors. Qurini fought for the repeal of the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act of 1988 which she argued had modest benefits and would burden elder Medicare recipients with extra costs and taxes. Qurini chaired mass informational meetings of area seniors groups to discuss the Medicare Catastrophic Coverage Act in 1988 and 1989. These featured state and local legislators, individual seniors and leaders of senior citizen groups as speakers. Notes, speeches, photographs and flyers from these events and general background materials about the legislation are in this series.

The IUE nominated Quirini to attend the New York State Governor’s Conference on Aging in March 1995. She subsequently served as part of the New York delegation to the White House Conference on Aging held in May 1995. This series features materials from both conferences, including official reports and resolutions as well as Quirini’s correspondence and notes.

Other items of interest in this series are pamphlets written by Quirini on a variety of issues affecting seniors and materials about the Social Security Notch provision which affected benefits paid to individuals, like Quirini, born between 1917 and 1921.

Please see Series 5 for materials related to Quirini's work with the GE Retirees on behalf of pension reform.