Jen Martin

Biography: AARP Social Media Manager for Create The Good, the AARP Foundation and Drive to End Hunger. Passions: Cheesy 80s music, food, my dog and the Baltimore Ravens

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Jen Martin 'sPosts

Italian Vacation? Let’s Help Eradicate Polio Instead

Posted on 03/6/2013 by Jen Martin | Volunteering | Comments

VolunteeringThis is a guest post by Philip L. Graitcer and the first in a five-part series about a group of dedicated Rotary volunteers helping to eradicate polio in Kaduna, Nigeria. They’re at a point in their lives where they could be playing with their grandchildren, working in the garden, or on a cruise, instead, these seniors are spending their leisure time eradicating polio in Nigeria. I’m meeting up with a 15-member polio immunization team – all Rotary International club volunteers with …

Getting Back to Work at 50+ – Deborah’s Story

Posted on 02/27/2013 by Jen Martin | Volunteering | Comments

WorkDeborah Salim, 62, had been living a quiet life in her mother’s home town of Conway, S.C., happy with her 15-year job in the record keeping office of the local community college and with the fact that four of her five children and their children were close by. Then came 2009, and for Deborah, like so many other 50-plus, the bottom dropped out of her world. She received a week’s notice from the college that budget cuts had eliminated her position. …

An Early Lead for Jeff Gordon Doesn’t Pan Out, but Drive to End Hunger Still Wins

Posted on 02/25/2013 by Jen Martin | Volunteering | Comments

VolunteeringWhat happens behind the scenes at a NASCAR race is just as important as what takes place on the track, and that was the case for four-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon and the Drive to End Hunger #24 Chevrolet at this year’s Daytona 500, a history-making edition of NASCAR‘s biggest race. Jeff started second, behind Danica Patrick, the first woman not only to earn the coveted pole position but also to lead a lap at Daytona and to finish …

Superbowl Bound or Bust

Posted on 01/31/2013 by Jen Martin | Volunteering | Comments

Home & Family | Your Life“YOLO,” mom said to me last week after announcing that she and my father were going to the Superbowl in New Orleans. I held the phone in my hand in silence. “Are you serious?” I asked her. She laughed, “Yes.” Not only could I not believe that my mother said YOLO, short for you only live once, but that she and Dad (who put off back surgery for a week) were trekking it to New Orleans, on a bus for …

NASCAR’s Jeff Gordon Ends the Year With Many Victories!

Posted on 12/5/2012 by Jen Martin | Volunteering | Comments

VolunteeringIt’s been a big fall for Jeff Gordon, who has been behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet for nearly two years, helping AARP Foundation raise millions of dollars to help feed nearly 9 million older people age 50+ who are struggling with hunger in the U.S. Last week, the National Motorsports Press Association awarded him the prestigious Myers Brothers Award for his contributions to NASCAR. On Nov. 18, just after Jeff ended the NASCAR …

The Queen of Toilet Paper

Posted on 11/27/2012 by Jen Martin | Volunteering | Comments

VolunteeringThis is a guest post by Margot Seay. Margot is AARP’s first National Volunteer Director. Sarita McCaw of Walla Walla, Wash., can sum up her service passion in two words — “toilet paper.” And her efforts around this humble commodity are making a real difference both for struggling families in her community and the organizations dedicated to their support. Why toilet paper, you ask? Despite being a core necessity, toilet paper, or “TP,” is not eligible for purchase with food stamps. …