YOUR AARP
Purpose Prize Winners
Honoring lives spent helping others
AARP HAS named five people who have helped make the world a more humane and equitable place as winners of the 2024 AARP Purpose Prize. Each of their organizations will receive $50,000. The organizations of 10 other AARP Purpose Prize Fellows will get an award of $10,000.
“Our Purpose Prize winners and fellows are shining examples of a simple, yet profound truth: When we find our sense of purpose, we not only give meaning to our own lives, we make the world a better place for everyone,” says AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins. Find out more at aarp.org/purposeprize.
The winners include:
Ken Falke, 61
Boulder Crest Foundation
• Bluemont, Virginia The foundation focuses on the mental well-being of combat veterans and first responders and their families, providing education and training for dealing with PTSD. bouldercrest.org
Laura Stachel, 64
We Care Solar
• Berkeley, California We Care Solar promotes safe motherhood and childbirth in frontline health care facilities by providing portable lighting and medical equipment powered by solar energy. wecaresolar.org
Peter Jensen, 73
The REACH Institute
• New York City REACH gives vulnerable children access to better mental health care services through improved training for care providers. thereachinstitute.org
Janice Malone, 68
Vivian’s Door
• Mobile, Alabama The nonprofit Vivian’s Door helps minority-owned small businesses and Black farmers in south and central Alabama find access to capital and also helps them make useful connections. viviansdoor.com
Don Schoendorfer, 74
Free Wheelchair Mission
• Irvine, California The mission ships free wheelchairs to people worldwide who cannot afford them—so far, they’ve helped nearly 1.4 million people in 94 countries. freewheelchairmission.org