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One of my favorite things about blogging is that I’ve been able to discover new ways of giving back. Whether it’s through purchasing an item, donating to a charity, or volunteering at an event, I love sharing all of these opportunities with you.
Earlier this month, I was presented with the opportunity to volunteer with AARP Foundation and the AARP Credit Card from Chase on September 11th. As soon as I received this email, I knew I wanted to participate. Each year, I’ve wanted to do something on September 11th, but I’ve never known what I should do to commemorate the day. I guess all I needed was a little push. This was the perfect opportunity to join up with AARP Foundation for their Summer of Service to Seniors℠.
So how did this event get started?
Well, for the past two years, AARP Foundation has hosted successful Summer of Service to Seniors℠ events here in D.C. But after those events were so successful, they decided that this summer, they were going to turn it into a full Summer of Service to Seniors event. With the AARP Credit Card from Chase as the presenting sponsor, they traveled to different cities, including Memphis, Denver, and Minneapolis-St. Paul to host different service events before wrapping up with a service event in D.C.
The goal? Pack 500,000 meals in each city leading up to DC.
Once they hit D.C., the goal was to pack and deliver 1.5 million meals. This would bring the total to over to more than three million meals packed in one summer. Together, Chase and AARP Foundation are fighting hunger and working to put food on the tables of the 10 million Americans ages 50 and over who are affected by hunger.
Now, back to the the event.
From the moment I arrived at the event, you could tell everyone was excited. I’ve been to volunteer events on the National Mall before, but never like this. When I first arrived, I was blown away. They had constructed a full tent and floored building on the mall for the volunteers! There was a giant welcome sign and a well-organized check in area for all of the volunteers. Once the volunteers arrived, they were lined up and ready to go to their stations.
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Leaders from the AARP Foundation came to greet them and officially kick off the event! As it was September 11th, we also took a few moments to remember those who lost their lives that day.
Leaders from AARP Foundation came to greet them and officially kick off the event! As it was September 11th, we also took a few moments to remember those who lost their lives that day.
The volunteers had a seemingly simple, but enormous task: pack up jambalaya mix at their table. Seems simple enough, right? But remember, this group was also trying to pack more than 1.5 million that day.
Difficult, but they could do it.
The music started playing and all of the volunteers got to work. They laughed and chatted, while quickly packing and passing along bags. Whenever a table filled an entire box, they got to pause to ring a congratulatory cowbell and send their box off.
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One of my favorite parts of the morning was when a group of volunteers hopped up on stage and started leading a group in the electric slide. It helped to pump everyone up for the last 30 minutes of their shift.
Once the volunteers finished their shift, they headed outside for a community event. There they could play cornhole, have their face painted and share what volunteering means to them. They could also learn more about AARP Foundation and the AARP Credit Card from Chase.
Another thing I learned was that the since 2011, Chase has helped raise over $7.7 million to help fight senior hunger through the AARP Credit Card from Chase. How? Well, for every purchase made at restaurants with your AARP Credit Card from Chase, $0.10 is donated to AARP Foundation in support of Drive To End Hunger, up to $1 million in 2017. (If this is making you consider the card, know that it has no annual fees. Also, you get a $100 bonus cash back after you spend $500 on purchases in the first three months of opening your account).
Overall, it was such a rewarding morning. I was so happy that Chase invited me to take part in it, and I can’t wait to participate again next year.
Want other ways that you can get involved?
To learn more about AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger visit:
http://www.aarpcreditcard.com/drivetoendhunger
To learn more about the AARP Credit Card from Chase visit: http://www.aarpcreditcard.com/
