AARP

History

Ethel Percy Andrus (1884–1967), a retired California high school principal, and Leonard Davis (1925–2001), a New York insurance executive, founded the AARP in 1958. Andrus taught in California for many years, becoming that state's first female high school principal. After retiring, she became concerned with the poverty her fellow retired teachers experienced who were living on meager pensions. Davis, with Andrus's encouragement and help, pioneered insurance programs for retirees. He would eventually form the Colonial Penn Group of insurance companies, and he went on to found the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics of the University of Pennsylvania.

Before founding the AARP, Andrus established the National Retired Teachers Association (NRTA) in 1947. Andrus's initial goal was to promote her philosophy of productive aging and to respond to the needs of retired teachers. After successfully working with Davis to develop insurance policies for them, Andrus developed other benefits and programs, including an early discount mail-order pharmacy service. With the growing success of the NRTA's programs, thousands of other retirees who were not teachers wanted to obtain them. So in 1958, Andrus and Davis established a new organization open to all retired individuals—the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). In 1999, the association changed its name to AARP.

Membership

Membership in the AARP is open to any person aged 50 or older. Members need not be U.S. citizens or residents. Most members live in the United States, although about 40,000 members live outside the country. Although most AARP members are retired, more than 40% of its members work part- or full-time, which is why the association shortened its name from the American Association of Retired Persons to simply AARP. The median age of members is 65 years; slightly more than half of the members are women.

Vision, Mission, and Organizational Structure

The AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization. Its vision is for a society in which everyone [Page 2]ages with dignity and purpose, and it helps people fulfill their goals and dreams. Its mission is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all as they age and to leading positive social change and delivering value to members through information, advocacy, and service.

The AARP is organized into a central headquarters, state offices located in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, and more than 2,500 local chapters throughout the nation. Its national headquarter is located in Washington, D.C., to allow its staff and volunteer leaders access to the federal government. The national headquarters coordinates the activities of the field operations and state offices and supports the initiatives of the local chapters, which are separately incorporated groups that provide members with opportunities to volunteer in their own communities. State chapters identify areas of legislative concern locally and support volunteers and staff as they work toward accomplishing the goals and objectives of the association and its members.

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