November 21, 2009



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How You Can Make an Impact

March-April 2004

What can AARP The Magazine’s Impact Award winners inspire you to do?




Jessica Lange

  • What she's already done: The Oscar-winning actress has helped to bring the suffering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to light.
  • What you can do to help: Aid victims of violence in the DRC with your donation; call 1-800-4UNICEF or visit UNICEF's website.

Tommy Franks

  • What he's already done: The retired general transformed the U.S. military into a force well prepared for 21st-century threats.
  • What you can do to help: Send a message of support to U.S. troops via the online version of the Operation Dear Abby letter-writing campaign.

Jack McKeon

  • What he's already done: The Florida Marlins manager won the World Series and a Manager of the Year award.
  • What you can do to help: Lead your own group of youngsters on the field by volunteering as a Little League coach (PDF).

Daniel Libeskind

Tina Ramirez

  • What she's already done: She launched Primeros Pasos (First Steps), an educational outreach program that sends dancers into schools nationwide.
  • What you can do to help: Introduce your local schools to dance as a teaching tool.

Robert Webster

  • What he's already done: Working at St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, he developed a flu vaccine using radical new methods.
  • What you can do to help: Well, don't go genetically manipulating any vaccines yourself, that's for sure. Instead, learn how to prevent the flu.

Gael Greene

John Walsh

  • What he's already done: His very personal war against predatory criminals through his crime-fighting TV show America's Most Wanted has put almost 800 fugitives behind bars.
  • What you can do to help: Join Walsh's fight for a victims' rights amendment to the Constitution.

Georgia Dunston

  • What she's already done: The founding director of the National Human Genome Center at Howard University seeks to trace genetic factors behind diseases such as diabetes and prostate cancer that disproportionately affect African Americans.
  • What you can do to help: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' "Closing the Health Gap" project aims to make good health a priority among minority populations affected by serious diseases. Sign up your community to take part in the project's next "Take a Loved One to the Doctor Day."

Theodore Berger

  • What he's already done: The director of the Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California is building a brain implant that one day could partially restore physical and mental function in brains damaged by stroke, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's.
  • What you can do to help: Help the Alzheimer's Association fight the disease by participating in a Memory Walk or volunteering with a local chapter. If Parkinson's is the disease that you want to tackle, there are several different nonprofit organizations to which you can contribute time or money.