AARP Hearing Center
Key takeaways
- Embrace volunteering after retirement to discover new community, purpose and meaningful connections.
- Say yes to opportunities to unlock unexpected experiences and build fulfilling post-retirement routines.
- Engage with diverse people through volunteering to enrich perspectives and expand social networks.
Summary
Volunteering after retirement can transform daily life by creating connection, purpose and community. Muriel Craig shares how simply saying yes led her from uncertainty after retirement to meaningful experiences with others through AARP programs. By stepping outside her comfort zone, she discovered new friendships and opportunities that enriched her life.
Through activities like Movies for Grownups and Cupid Crew, Craig found fulfillment in giving back while building relationships with diverse individuals. Her journey highlights how small decisions to engage can lead to lasting impact, helping retirees stay active, connected and inspired in their next chapter.
The key takeaways and summary were created with the assistance of generative AI. An AARP editor reviewed and refined the content for accuracy and clarity.
Full transcript
[0:00:00] Muriel Craig: When somebody asks you to volunteer, sometimes you have to
[0:00:04] move beyond yourself and just say yes.
[0:00:07] It’’ll open you up to other things.
[0:00:09] You have no idea what they’ll be, but usually they’re pretty nice.
[0:00:15] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: What was your life like before you became a volunteer?
[0:00:18] Muriel Craig: After I retired, all the kids grown up ...
[0:00:21] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: Mm-hmm.
[0:00:22] Muriel Craig: And so my husband and I are just sitting around looking at each other
like, “OK, what’s next?”
[0:00:26] We got a phase two coming here.
[0:00:28] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: That’s right.
[0:00:28] Muriel Craig: We don’t wanna just sit around and do nothing.
[0:00:31] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: Often what we find is that older individuals sometimes
[0:00:34] can become isolated as we get older and are looking for community, and it sounds
[0:00:39] like AARP offered a new community for you.
[0:00:42] Muriel Craig: Yes, absolutely.
[0:00:44] I have met some of the most wonderfully intellectual, diverse people.
[0:00:49] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: Mm-hmm.
[0:00:50] Muriel Craig: This is kind of the people that I wanna hang around with.
[0:00:55] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: And so when you first began your journey with AARP, what
was your area of volunteering?
[0:00:58] Muriel Craig: It started with a friend of mine named Millie.
[0:01:04] She just started inviting me to things.
[0:01:06] I think I went to a picnic and I went to a tabling event.
[0:01:09] What really drew me in was when she asked me to help her.
[0:01:13] She called me up and she said, “The person that was gonna work with me in Movies
for Grownups got sick suddenly.” I’m like, “Free movies in the afternoon?”
[0:01:24] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: Yeah.
[0:01:24] Muriel Craig: I was like, “I gotta go see this.”
[0:01:26] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: OK.
[0:01:26] Muriel Craig: And I did.
[0:01:26] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: I love that example of Movies for Grownups, because
[0:01:29] it is an opportunity for us to be able to lift up older actors and directors.
[0:01:34] You’ve poured so much of yourself into your volunteerism with AARP, and it sounds
like you’re getting a lot out of it.
[0:01:39] Muriel Craig: I’m getting so much out of it.
[0:01:45] It’s very fulfilling for me, the Cupid’s Crew program especially ...
[0:01:50] Muriel Craig: Where we take roses and make handmade cards to take to people who
are in either a shelter or a nursing home.
[0:01:58] And you plan to just say a few words, you end up being there almost all day.
[0:02:03] It’s very interesting to know that you enrich their lives.
[0:02:08] Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan: I just have to say how grateful I am for you, for your time,
for your energy, for your dedication to our mission, for the way in which you champion all of
these issues for older adults in your community, both locally and nationally.
[0:02:22] It gives me such pride and joy. And I’m just really grateful. Thank you so much, Muriel.
You are absolutely amazing.
[0:02:29] Muriel Craig: Thank you. You’re welcome.
