How Can Someone Volunteer with AARP Ohio? Let Us Count the Ways.

Ask volunteers for AARP Ohio how and why they got involved in the organization and, to a person, there are several things they will tell you:

• They were looking for ways to stay busy and engaged once they retired and wanted to give back to their local communities.
• They love meeting new people and staying connected. They don’t feel isolated.
• They want people to realize that AARP has far more to offer than discounts and insurance—not the least of which includes efforts to protect the rights and well-being of older adults through fraud prevention, supporting family caregivers, helping make homes and communities more livable for people as they age, and much, much more.
• They see the work they’re doing as benefiting generations to come, not just older adults of today.
• They appreciate the range of volunteer opportunities AARP has to offer—opportunities that play to someone’s strengths, align with their interests, or accommodate their limitations.

“There are countless ways someone can volunteer with AARP Ohio and make a meaningful difference, and I think that’s what people find both attractive and rewarding about working with our organization,” says Ty Pine, manager of outreach and advocacy, AARP Ohio. “We are fortunate to have so many dedicated people giving their time and talents to the cause of improving the lives of older Ohioans and their families. Having said this, we could always use more of them.”

In this spirit and to mark a successful National Volunteer Month in 2025, here are stories of how some of our volunteers give their time and talents to AARP activities and causes:

Semanthie Brooks, Akron
In December 2016, Semanthie Brooks retired as director of Community Advocacy for the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging, and by January 2017, she was already volunteering for AARP Ohio. Recruited by the organization’s associate state director of outreach at the time, she started out as a member of the Ohio Executive Council, also helping out with various volunteer activities in the northeast Ohio region.

Now, she calls herself a “full-fledged” volunteer. During the 2025 Medicare Open Enrollment, for example, she worked closely with AARP Ohio, educating older adults about the choices they have under Medicare.

As a master-level social worker certified in Life Span Development and Gerontology, Brooks is dedicated to educating beneficiaries both as an AARP volunteer and to fulfill a personal commitment to helping older adults make difficult choices about their Medicare.

“Volunteering on behalf of the needs of older adults sits well with me because of my background,” Brooks said. “I get immense satisfaction being a volunteer. This isn’t just about supporting the needs of older adults today. I’m doing this for my children and grandchildren too.”

Diane George, Cleveland
Diane George knew she wanted to keep busy once she retired from the FBI—she was employed there for 39 years, starting in DC and later working in the Cleveland Bureau—but wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. Then she got an invitation to an AARP open house to learn about the organization’s programs.

“The caregiving resources and programs caught my eye because I took care of my elderly parents, including my mother who was diabetic,” she said. “I didn’t have access to these resources at the time, but it made me feel better to learn that I had been doing things properly. I share these with everyone I know who is taking care of an elderly parent.”

With her parents gone now, she’s drawn to volunteer opportunities in the arts and entertainment. A line dancer and ballroom dancer, she serves as the Movies for Grownups lead in her region, coordinating and hosting movie showings at local theaters and keeping people up to date on other upcoming events and ways they can watch or participate.

“It’s a great way to meet new people,” she said. “I know what makes me feel happy, so I want to do the same for others.”

Joyce Madison, Columbus
Joyce Madison had heard of AARP but wasn’t aware of its local activities until she was invited to a luncheon in 2018 where they were looking to grow a local volunteer group. “They needed someone with administrative capabilities and this was right up my alley,” said Madison, who was an administrative assistant for IBM.

As an AARP Ohio Portal champion, Madison trains volunteers on how to find opportunities and access resources on the platform. She also helps run the AARP Ohio Speakers Bureau, coordinating local opportunities for AARP presenters who are subject matter experts in the focus areas of Fraud, Brain Health, Caregiving, Social Security and Decluttering. While many of the events are virtual, others are hosted in senior centers, civic meeting places and local churches by request.

“I like to be busy, and when I retired, I couldn’t just stay home,” she said. “I was onboarding local volunteers for the American Red Cross, and this was the opportunity to do something different.”

Rosalind Mason, Cincinnati
Rosalind “Roz” Mason, a long-time volunteer in Cincinnati, got her start when she responded to an ad and a local AARP leader reached out to her. “Once I got trained, I just hit the ground running—whatever they needed me to do, I did.”

Early on, Rosalind signed up for various city events that lend themselves well to AARP volunteer and membership recruitment—home shows, for example, or local performance venues, once where she had the opportunity to meet American actress and comedian Kim Coles. Another highlight, she says, was volunteering for the screening of the movie “Black Panther,” starring the late actor Chadwick Boseman, at an AARP Movies for Grownups event.

Her volunteerism has since taken a serious turn as local coordinator of Matthew 25: Ministries, which provides humanitarian aid and disaster relief across the country. Much of their focus lately has been in the nearby state of Kentucky, which was hit by floods in recent weeks. “I reach out to about 20 new or returning volunteers to help with whatever they need—from sorting clothes to removing labels off medicine bottles for reuse,” Roz said. “Even if someone has physical limitations, we can find ways for them to help.”

If you’re interested in volunteering for AARP Ohio, visit our website to learn more and fill out our volunteer interest form.