Development of AARP Volunteer Leaders

By Phil Zarlengo, AARP Volunteer Transitions alumni coordinator and former AARP Board chair*

Volunteer leadership is a hallmark of AARP, especially as seen through our Board of Directors, the National Policy Council, State Presidents and Executive Council members.  While these are long-standing roles, I am pleased to see attention being given to developing volunteers who are leading other volunteers at the local level.  In fact, AARP has a 2017 goal having at least 45% of the events in the approximately 125 community presence sites led by volunteers.  There are some states where two-thirds of their events are volunteer-led!

I’m pleased to see the Office of Volunteer Engagement (OVE) actively working on this goal.  The OVE team is focused on sharpening the skills of state staff so that they are the best possible partners to volunteers.  Similarly, the OVE team is polishing the skills and deepening volunteers’ awareness of resource materials around key issue areas.  One example of their work is the Community Leadership Academy where a volunteer and a staff member participate in a learning experience designed to build sustainable, volunteer-led teams within a community.  The volunteer-staff pairs are seeing one another in a new light and are creating new ways to deliver on AARP’s mission.  A common tool used by the teams is a Listening Post which can collect consumer feedback on, and intensity around, issues that matter to a community.

Another example is the Volunteer Transitions Program, an effort designed and led by volunteers to demonstrate AARP ‘s appreciation for those volunteer leaders who are terming out of or transitioning from their roles.  The Alumni community that you have all joined is an important part of this initiative, and has provided the opportunity for participants to engage in discussions with key leaders on issues ranging from the health care to Disrupt Aging to going local.

As we know from our personal experience as AARP volunteer leaders, it is essential that the leaders have access to timely information and the ability to easily connect with fellow volunteers.  Today’s leaders are now able to use the Volunteer Portal for information and connections to fellow volunteers.  It is gratifying to see AARP continue to wisely engage volunteers and create more opportunities for true volunteer leadership.

*Phil also served previously as the AARP Rhode Island State President and continues today as a member of  AARP RI’s Executive Council and State Legislative Committee.