About Us
Geovani Barraza's journey back to work
Here’s our summer 2025 edition of To Serve, the AARP Foundation newsletter. This digital issue highlights the powerful difference that caring individuals like you make in the lives of older adults. Thank you for your commitment to creating a brighter future without senior poverty!
Hope After a Layoff: One Professional's Journey Back to Work
Geovani Barraza has been working since he was 16 years old. But in late 2023, layoffs left the Chicago native unemployed at age 51. After decades of employment, it was a hard change to make.
"I was concerned," Geovani says. "You hear that employers look for young people who are easier to mold."
Geovani had six months’ notice before his job ended and began searching for his next position right away, but after months of interviews and conversations with nearly two dozen recruiters on LinkedIn, Geovani still hadn’t landed a job. Then he found AARP Foundation’s BACK TO WORK 50+, a program that connects older job seekers with the information, training and support they need to get back into the workforce. For Geovani, the program provided practical tools and genuine empathy during a challenging time.
Weekly gatherings invited participants to victories and support each other when they felt like giving up, a crucial element to staying positive. "When you hear ‘no’ so often, it feels like you’re running a marathon," Geovani explains. "You need people cheering you on."
The program nudged Geovani far out of his comfort zone. Like many first-generation Latino Americans, he was raised to be quietly diligent and humble — to "not push the envelope," as he puts it. But BACK TO WORK 50+ challenged this conditioning and helped him advocate for himself. He learned that being proactive wasn’t begging (as Geovani saw it) but rawing attention to his professional value.
Geovani also learned to take advantage of job search technologies like interview tools, résumé checkers and training resources he hadn’t known about.
His persistence paid off. Despite his worries about his age and the job market, he was hired as a global assistant controller at a manufacturing company, where he’s now been working for more than a year.
Geovani offers advice to others facing similar challenges: "Just try. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.”
Major Victory for Older Adults with Disabilities
AARP Foundation has won a significant legal battle for disability rights in the nation's capital.
After 14 years of litigation led by Foundation attorneys, the U.S. District Court found that D.C. failed to inform nursing home residents they could receive health services in their own homes. Officials also didn't help residents access community-based services or housing needed to return to independent living.
"Today's ruling affirms the right of thousands of people with disabilities to choose how and where they live," said Kelly Bagby, Vice President of Litigation at AARP Foundation.
The judgment follows a 2021 trial and represents years of dedicated work by AARP Foundation and our co-counsel. The court recognized that navigating Medicaid-funded care programs is overwhelming for many residents who without proper support may lose hope of ever returning home.
This victory exemplifies our commitment to vulnerable older adults and people with disabilities. With your support, we will continue to champion the rights of those who need advocates most.
Making a Difference One Child at a Time
Barbara Sundust with her son, Noah, are volunteer tutors in Arizona with AARP Foundation Experience Corps.
We recently met mother-son duo Barbara and Noah Sundust, who are making a difference for children in their Arizona community. Noah teaches third grade at Desert Willow Elementary, and his mother, Barbara is an AARp Foudation Experience Corps tutor working with some of his students.
Experience Corps is a volunteer program that pairs older adult volunteers with students grades 1-3 who need extra reading support.
"I taught for 44 years. It's in my heart." Barbara says.
Noah has seen the impact firsthand. "Having these volunteers tutoring our kids has been really helpful," he explains. "Nothing can beat a one-on-one tutor."
We’re celebrating 30 years of Experience Corps and stories like these. The program operates in 18 communities across the United States and has helped thousands of children become more confident readers.
Learn More How Older Adults are Making a Difference for Children
Making a Lasting Impact with a Planned Gift to AARP Foundation
A planned gift to AARP Foundation can make a meaningful difference in the lives of older adults — both today and for generations to come. One of the simplest ways to leave a legacy is by including a charitable donation in your will or living trust. And that’s just the beginning. There are many other ways to make a planned gift, including donor-advised funds, beneficiary designations and charitable gift annuities.