About AARP
What is AARP?
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization
for people age 50 and over. We provide information and resources; advocate
on legislative, consumer, and legal issues; assist members to serve their
communities; and offer
a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our
members.
Active in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP celebrates the attitude that age is just a
number and life is what you make it.
How do we serve our members?
- We offer a range of discounts, products and services
tailored to your needs.
- We provide trustworthy information on crucial
topics ranging from retirement benefits to adventure travel.
- We fight for your rights and interest at the national,
state and local levels.
- We connect you to others in volunteer service
at the community level.
Discounts, Products and Services
When you join AARP, you have access to many free
or reduced-cost programs and services. These are developed by AARP,
taking into consideration the needs of our members. Additionally, AARP
opens the doors to numerous discounts offered by other companies and
providers, exclusively to our members. Find out more about the different
ways you can save money.
Advocacy
AARP
works in Washington D.C. on issues of particular concern to older people,
pushing to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare, protecting the
future of Social Security, reforming campaign finance laws and strengthening
protections against age discrimination. We also represent the interests
of older people in all 50 state legislatures, the District of Columbia,
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. We oppose age bias in federal and
state courts and work with community volunteers to make a difference
at all levels of government.
Publications
In
January of 2002, AARP launched AARP Segunda Juventud as part of
our effort to reach out to the Hispanic community. Today, the bilingual
publication, published in Spanish and English, reaches well over 600,000
households six times a year, and its circulation continues to grow!
With its March/April 2003 issue, AARP introduced
AARP The Magazine bringing together its two premier titles-AARP
Modern Maturity and My Generation magazines-into a single
lifestyle 
publication
built on the strength of the AARP name. The new publication reaches
almost 35 million AARP members, making it the largest circulation magazine
in the nation. In addition, AARP The Magazine launched a new website with new Web exclusive features and interactive applications.
Recognizing a need to serve the active and enlightened
group of working and retired educators, NRTA 
launched
Live & Learn in November of 2002—a quarterly publication
for AARP's educator community. The publication and its companion website serve as informative and thought-provoking resources that speak
to the goals, issues, and interests of NRTA's network of over one-million
members.
AARP Bulletin, America's largest newspaper
for the 50+ population 
has
a circulation of 21 million readers and focuses on practical topics
that directly affect the well being of its readers, such as Social Security,
Medicare, consumer protection, health, and money matters. The website
features daily national and regional news stories and in-depth analysis
on major issues in the news, as well as State-by-State information on
pharmacy assistance programs and nursing home report cards.
AARP Foundation-Finding
New Ways to Help You
For 42 years, AARP's affiliated charity, the AARP
Foundation, has improved the quality of life for older adults and their
families through a variety of assistance and consumer protection programs.
With the merger of the Andrus Foundation into the AARP Foundation, it
will be possible to help even more families.
You may be familiar with the Foundation's hands-on
community services, including AARP Tax-Aide-the nation's largest free
tax-counseling service and the Senior Community Service Employment Program-employment
and training assistance for those 50+.
The Foundation also conducts educational campaigns
such as the Legal Information Project, producing legal self-help guides
and Telemarketing Fraud, preventing victimization.
Training programs are offered, such as the National
Legal Training Project, which conducts seminars for lawyers, paralegals,
and lay advocates who provide free legal services to older adults. The
Reverse Mortgage Project provides consumer education resources and coordinates
a counseling referral program to help people continue to live independently
in their own homes.
The Foundation has an active staff of lawyers,
which litigates on such issues of concern as age discrimination, pensions,
and predatory lending.
How can you help us? Much of the good work done
by the AARP Foundation is done by volunteers. For the rest, we need
donations-small gifts, large gifts, matching gifts, and bequests. Make
a donation online, remember us in your will and trust, or give us your
valuable time by becoming an AARP Foundation volunteer.
"The AARP Foundation
empowers people through information and services. It translates our
mission into action," says AARP Board Member Charlie Mendoza. To learn
more about this tax-exempt charity, call 800-775-6776 or visit www.aarp.org/foundation.
AARP Tax-Aide
Our Tax Aide program is the largest, free, volunteer-run
tax counseling and preparation service in the country. With more than
30,000 qualified, trained volunteers, we provide free tax advice to
middle and lower income taxpayers with special attention to those age
60 and older. We are actively recruiting Spanish-speaking volunteers
to assist with this program.
AARP Grandparent
Information Center
We offer a free newsletter and online tips on raising
grandkids, starting support groups and traveling with your grandchildren.
We also offer print publications in English, with some in Spanish, and
referral to other organizations with pertinent information for grandparents.
AARP Grief
& Loss Program
For nearly three decades, the AARP Grief &
Loss Program has helped the newly bereaved through the grief process.
Today, we offer a wide variety of resources and
information on bereavement issues for adults of all ages and their families.
Services include: one-on-one peer outreach, a grief course, bereavement
support groups, informational booklets and brochures, and online support.
AARP Driver
Safety Program
The AARP Driver Safety Program is the nation's
first and largest classroom driver improvement course specially designed
for motorists age 50 and older.
The eight-hour course is taught in two, four-hour sessions spanning
two days, and costs $10. The course helps drivers refine existing skills
and develop safe, defensive driving techniques. AARP members and non-members
alike may take the course. There are no tests.
Upon successfully completing the course, graduates of AARP Driver Safety
Program may be eligible to receive a state-mandated multiyear discount
on their auto insurance premiums.
Volunteers
AARP volunteers are the heart and soul of AARP.
The members of our Board of Directors and our National Officers are
all unpaid volunteers, as are our field volunteer directors, state presidents,
and thousands of legislative program and chapter leaders. They are involved
in advocacy at the national and state level and innovative community
service and education programs.
AARP Offices
AARP now operates an office in every state, as well
as the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. The
offices create stronger ties to communities across the country, enabling
AARP to better serve its members via advocacy and community service at
the local level. Each state office implements AARP's national priorities
and also develops state-specific activities to involve and mobilize its
members.
There is much more to AARP. For more information
go to the website.
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