AARP Experience Corps - 2014 Program of Distinction Designee

Lequetta Diggs, an AARP Experience Corps volunteer, working
with students at Maxfield Elementry school in St. Paul
to help develop their reading skills.

Photos courtesy of AARP Experience Corps.

In the four years Generations United, through our partnership with New York Life Foundation, presented the Programs of Distinction Award, we realized something: our applicants are adventurers at heart, whether they know it or not.  

While applying isn’t as dangerous as wingsuit gliding off a 13,000-foot mountain or kayaking over a waterfall, the consideration process is just as rigorous.

That’s why our successful applicants enjoy the bragging rights and national legitimacy that comes from joining an elite group of programs celebrated for their effectiveness. (See our post, “What is a Program of Distinction Designee and why is it so important?”)

This year’s honorees are AARP Experience Corps, Family Care Center at Virginia Commonwealth University and Geriatric Career Development Program at Jewish Home Lifecare.

This post is one of a three-part series, highlighting our 2014 designees. First up, is AARP Experience Corps.

What makes this an award-winning national program is how it engages people 50-plus years old to meet their community's greatest challenges.

Two thousand AARP Experience Corps volunteer members tutor and mentor in 19 cities across the country, providing literacy coaching, homework help, consistent role models and committed, caring attention.

Independent research shows that AARP Experience Corps boosts student academic performance, helps schools and youth-serving organizations become more successful, and enhances the well-being of adults 50 and older in the process.

They tap into the desire for 50-plus adults to be engaged in community, leveraging their capacity to create lasting change and making sure we conduct the research necessary to deliver the best results.

Their volunteer members tutor children who need basic literacy skills, they mentor students who count on them for guidance, they partner with classroom teachers to make schools better places to learn and they help create healthier communities. Learn more about AARP Experience Corp.

Stay tuned for next week, when we introduce Family Care Center at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems.