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STATE OFFICE
Past Winners of The Purpose Prize® from AARP
and Fellows
The Purpose Prize from AARP honors extraordinary people 50-plus who put their purpose into action.
2025
Jim Ansara, Build Health International
Jon Eldan, After Innocence
Robert Elkin, March to the Polls
Reneé Fluker, Midnight Golf Program
Gemma M. García, Ladies Empowerment & Action Program (LEAP)
Jennifer Jacobs, Connect Our Kids
Calvin Mackie, STEM NOLA | STEM Global Action
2024
Winners
Ken Falke, Boulder Crest Foundation
Peter Jensen, The REACH Institute
Janice Malone, Vivian’s Door
Don Schoendorfer, Free Wheelchair Mission
Laura Stachel, We Care Solar
Fellows
Julie Clugage, Team4Tech Foundation
Shana Erenberg, Libenu
Lee Ann Kline, STEM Advantage
Scarlett Lewis, Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement
Pamela Lindsay, College of Adaptive Arts
Geeta Metha, Asia Initiatives
Maura O'Malley, Lifetime Arts, Inc.
Rob Perez, DV8 Kitchen Vocational Training Foundation
Ming-Ming Tung-Edelman, Refugee Artisan Initiative
Renita White, Of Color Inc.
2023
Winners
Zerqa Abid, MY Project USA
Jamesetta Ferguson, Molo Village, CDC
Sharron Rush, Knowbility
Bill Toone, Ecolife Conservation
Dr. Imani Woody, Mary’s House for Older Adults
Fellows
Gulshan Harjee, Clarkston Community Health Center
Judith Heilman, Montana Racial Equity Project
Chien-Chi Huang, Asian Women for Health
Debra Isaacs, Unshakeable
Mishelle Rudzinski, Spoon
Charles Schmuck, Peninsula College Fund
Richard Sesler, Camp Blue Skies
Elizabeth Shaughnessy, Berkeley Chess School
Richard Valenza, RaiseAChild
Dr. Michele R. Wright and Terry Gene Wright, National Organization of African Americans with Cystic Fibrosis
2022
Winners
William “Bill” Bracken, Bracken’s Kitchen
Raymond A. Jetson, MetroMorphosis; 2022 Winner
Alan Miller, News Literacy Project
Ify Anne Nwabukwu, African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association
Rita Zimmer, HousingPlus
Fellows
Larry Berger, SLB Radio Productions
Rebecca Bonner, The Bridge Way School
Terri Chandler, Future Smiles
Dexter Frederick, Brain Expansions Scholastic Training
Sheila Jaffe, Felix Organization
Shellie Layne, At Home Foundation Inc./Women Under Construction Network
Terri Winston, Women’s Audio Mission
Ana Pallés Yelen, Healing Warriors Program
2021
Winners
Mark Barden, Sandy Hook Promise
Cindy Eggleton, Brilliant Detroit
Hope Harley, Bronx Children’s Museum
Arturo A. Noriega, Centro Community Partners
Susan Tachau, Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation
Fellows
Mark Barden, Sandy Hook Promise
Jerilyn Brusseau, PeaceTrees Vietnam
Liz Fanning, CorpsAfrica
Patricia Funegra, La Cocina VA
Andrea Ivory, The Women’s Breast & Heart Initiative
Robin Kelleher, Hope for the Warriors
Sharon Love, One Love Foundation
Donna Odom, Society for History and Racial Equity
Ngozi Okaro, Custom Collaborative
Katherine Soll, Teens For Food Justice
Lisa H. Thurau, Strategies for Youth
2020
Winners
Shirley Acevedo Buontempo, Latino U College Access
Georgette Bennett, Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees
Paul Leon, Illumination Foundation
Sister Edna Lonergan, St. Ann's Center for Intergenerational Care
Wintley A. Phipps, US Dream Academy
Fellows
Im Ja Choi, Penn Asian Senior Services
AnnMaria De Mars, 7 Generation Games
Adele Della Torre, Ready Set Smile
Linda B Eagan, Fulton Block Builders
Beth Ehrhardt, Senior Charity Care Foundation
Gregg Kander, Superior Motors/Ohringer Arts
Molly MacDonald, The Pink Fund
Vicki Sokolik, Starting Right, Now
Kirk Whisler, Latino Literacy Now
2019
Winners
Sayu Bhojwani, New American Leaders
Karen Cassidy, Hildegard House
Susan Cotton, The Lily Project
Reid Cox, iFoster
Bettye Perkins, Today's Students Tomorrow's Teachers
Monica Kamal Spaeni, Access Ability Wisconsin
Fellows
Kristy Baxter and Mark Griffin, UNDERSTOOD
Patrick Coggins, AskMyBuddy Personal Alert Network
Nora de Hoyos Comstock, Las Comadres Para Las Americas
Donna Gambrell, Appalachian Community Capital
Lisa Gualtieri, RecycleHealth
Marc Sophos, Media for the Public Good, Inc./OutCasting Media
Laura Talmus, Beyond Differences
Sheila Warnock, Share The Caregiving, Inc.
Karen Young, Sweet Readers, Inc.
2018
Winners
Cynthia Barnett, Saturday Academy/Amazing Girls Science
James Farrin, The Petey Greene Program
Celeste Mergens, Days for Girls
Dr. Mike F. Weaver, See and Serve America, Inc
Fellows
Bonnie J. Addario, Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) and Addario Lung Cancer Medical Institute (ALCMI)
Gary Eichhorn, Music & Youth Initiative
Dr. Laurie Green, The MAVEN Project
Annie Griffiths, Ripple Effects Images
Cindy Kerr, Ryan's Case for Smiles
Sister Marilyn Lacey, Mercy Beyond Borders
Dr. Ashok Malhotra, Ninash Foundation
Anne Pollack, Crossing Point Arts, Inc.
Lynn Price, Camp To Belong
Juanita Suber, My Sistah's Place/Golden Generations