Purpose

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

What’s your purpose?  In other words, what drives you to do the things you do?  That’s a question that was recently explored at a gathering of executives from non-profit organizations hosted by AARP’s Office of Volunteer Engagement.  In the world of volunteerism, it is clear that our individual purpose guides us to organizations and efforts where we want to share our time and expertise.  Increasingly, we are seeing corporations publicly state their purpose in terms that reveal a sense of connectedness to a larger community.  Executives are also inviting staff to reflect on their individual sense of why their work matters to those beyond the business walls.  Interesting research and work is being done by the PwC Charitable Foundation.

You have been a key part of AARP’s social mission work and your efforts have been an invaluable catalyst for positive change.  AARP recently updated its purpose statement to say: Our purpose is to empower people to choose how they live as they age.  AARP is also coupling its purpose statement with a declaration of core values that center on impact, innovation, humanity, empowerment and honesty.  I am glad to see AARP share its purpose and values since it serves as a motivator for me and thousands of other volunteers to fulfill a part of our purpose through AARP’s volunteer work.

I invite you to start a dialog among our volunteer alumni community to share what your purpose is…to connect people, to serve people, to tackle the big challenges in our society, to correct injustices, or something else.  Please send an email to volunteer@aarp.org with “purpose” in the subject line and we’ll share comments in our December newsletter.

*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.