Appreciating Our Volunteers: Joe Garbanzos

With National Volunteer Appreciation Week 2016 in full swing, AARP California is taking the opportunity to highlight some of our venerable volunteers. Volunteers are at the heart of all the great work done at the AARP California office. Among this group of incredible volunteers is Joe Garbanzos.

Joe began volunteering with AARP after speaking with another long time AARP volunteer and fellow San Diego resident, Robert Prath. “Seeing how Bob is making a difference in the community was inspiring. It showed me a new possibility to share my skills and knowledge, making a difference in the Asian-American Pacific Islander community,” said Garbanzos. “You may say, after meeting Bob, I was convinced to grow up like him.”

While Joe’s jobs as a faculty member at the Alliant School of Management and as a healthcare consultant at Harbage Consulting keep him quite busy, he continually finds time to give back to his community as an AARP volunteer. According to Joe, the most pleasurable part of volunteering is meeting and getting to know the other volunteers. He describes the AARP California volunteers as “an amazing corps group - talented, fun and genuinely interested in sharing time and knowledge.”

While juggling work and volunteering, Joe cites curiosity and his interest in tackling new challenges as effective motivators.

“We all have good days and bad days; on balance, life is full of possibilities. Volunteering at AARP gives one the opportunity to take on possibilities in your own terms.”

When Joe is not working or volunteering, he takes pleasure in long-distance cycling with the Blind Stokers Club. In addition, Joe also enjoys hiking on the many trails in San Diego and kayaking in Mission Bay.

Volunteering, for Joe, is a personal choice.

“It may be a choice that will offer one an opportunity to take time, talent and passion to another level... from imagination to a new beginning. It's a choice and chance worth taking.”

AARP California thanks Joe Garbanzos for his dedication to the AARP mission.

Do you know someone like Joe, who is using his or her skills and experience to make a significant difference in your community? If so, honor his or her dedication, commitment, and creativity with a nomination for the 2016 AARP California Andrus Award for Community Service -- AARP’s most prestigious and visible state volunteer award for community service. Nominations for this year’s award will be accepted through June 3, 2016 at the AARP California office.  Nomination forms are available by contacting Antoine Cook at (626) 585-2608, on the web at www.aarp.org/AndrusAward or by calling 1-888-OUR-AARP (1-888-687-2277).