AARP NeighborWalks Volunteers

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About AARP Colorado

Location:

303 E 17th Ave., Suite 510, Denver, CO 80203, US

Mission Statement

AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people age 50 and over.

AARP is dedicated to enhancing quality of life for all as we age. We lead positive social change and deliver value to members through information, advocacy and service.

AARP also provides a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members.

These benefits include AARP Web site at www.aarp.org, "AARP The Magazine," the monthly "AARP Bulletin," and a Spanish-language newspaper, "Segunda Juventud."

Active in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP celebrates the attitude that age is just a number and life is what you make it.

Description

AARP - A Force for Social Change

AARP's extensive research shows that older and middle-aged Americans share clear concerns about their futures:

• People want to live as independently as they can for as long as they can.
• They want active, purposeful lives as they grow older.
• They want to provide a better life for their children and grandchildren, not be a burden to them.
• They want the security, choices and control to help them fashion the best life possible for themselves and their families.
• They want the country to be a better place than they found it.

Meeting these needs and desires forms the foundation of AARP's agenda for social change.

We must also be sure that these changes are affordable for our society, so that they are sustained and endure for future generations.

Our members highly value AARP's social activism. With 36 million members and hundreds of thousands of volunteers, AARP has the collective energy, commitment and power to improve the quality of life for everyone as they age.

AARP has identified five critical steps to help people achieve their goals:

1. Renovate our nation's economic and health systems to meet the needs of a growing number of older Americans.
2. Give people the information and resources they need to build their financial and health security.
3. Ensure that communities respond to the needs of a rapidly growing older population.
4. Stimulate the marketplace to provide products and services responsive to the needs of 50+ consumers, and provide value to members by offering quality services and products.
5. Learn from the experiences of other nations faced with rapidly aging populations; apply their best practices and policy options to our work, and share with other nations what we know from our experiences.

AARP will continue to work hard to enable people 50 and older to have the independence, choice, and control in their lives that they need to benefit themselves and society. Achieving the following goals must also be affordable for individuals and for our society.

Economic Security Goals

Having adequate income and savings is critical to financial security as one ages.

• Americans must be able to rely on a Social Security system that is solvent and maintains a guaranteed benefit, is annually adjusted for inflation, and cannot be outlived.
• Americans 50 and older must be able to remain in the workforce, if they so choose.
• Americans must save and effectively manage adequate assets for retirement.
• Americans must be free of consumer fraud and abusive financial practices.
• Americans with low incomes and special needs must have sufficient resources available to them.

Health Security & Supportive Services Goals

Good health and access to good health services are vital to one's independence and security.

• Americans must have adequate and affordable health insurance coverage, and access to high quality health care and support services.
• Americans of all ages must have access to health coverage that meets a uniform set of standards.
• Medicare must be strengthened as the most important source of quality health care for older Americans.
• Prescription drugs must become more affordable.
• Individuals with functional limitations must have access to home and community-based care.
• Caregivers must have adequate support available to them.
• Americans 50 and older should improve their health through healthy behaviors.

Livable Communities Goals

The ability to live in a residence appropriate for one's needs and to have access to one's community for as long as possible are fundamental to the maintenance of a vital, purposeful life.

• Americans 50 and older must have appropriate and affordable housing options as they age and their needs change.
• Older and frail individuals should be able to age in their homes for as long as they can, and have an array of appropriate and affordable housing options to meet their needs.
• Americans 50 and older must have appropriate transportation options and be able to sustain their mobility as they age.
• Remaining mobile, whether by car, foot or public and private transportation, is a key ingredient for remaining independent.
• Older drivers should retain their competencies and their driving privileges to the maximum extent possible.
• There must be adequate mobility options when driving is no longer feasible.

Information and Resources Goals

Americans 50 and older must have easy access to credible information and resources that can help them make informed decisions about the choices available to them.

AARP will provide one-stop access to the information and resources needed by older Americans.

International Leadership Goal

AARP will be a leader in developing international dialogue around the global aging agenda and an understanding of the best practices of nations throughout the world.