Click here to donate $1 or more to become a Senior Planet Supporter!
It has been over a year since Senior Planet went online, and there is little that hasn’t been transformed by twelve months in lockdown. Our community has quadrupled in size, we’ve offered over 3,400 virtual programs, and we have entered a new and groundbreaking affiliation with AARP that will help us expand our impact even more.
After a challenging but invigorating year together, we are excited to step out of lockdown more connected than ever before. And what suits a new era better than a new name?
After an extensive and detailed process, including online surveys, focus groups, dozens of names ideas brainstormed and internal review, we are thrilled to announce the new name for members is: Supporters!
We wanted a new name that captured the optimism, communality and heart of our community. Senior Planet Supporters don’t just champion Senior Planet, they champion each other – no matter where they live. Whether it’s answering each other’s questions in class or meeting on the weekend to keep the Morning Stretch momentum going, our community is defined by the support we lend each other on our journey to change how the world views aging…and how we view ourselves.
Won’t you join us?
Becoming a Senior Planet Supporter means access to benefits like:
- Supporter-only events – like our special guest lecture on “De-Cluttering and Downsizing Your Home” coming in May!
- Our Annual Technology Review (click here to see a sample of the review!)
- Quarterly Impact Reports
- Volunteer opportunities
- And more!
How to become a Supporter? Donate $1 or more annually and commit to volunteering with us at least once a year. That’s it! Volunteering can be as easy as filling out a feedback form or as involved as helping to lead events – it’s up to you!
Psst!! not sure whether you’re already a “Supporter” (formerly know as a “Member”)? Reach out to phugi@oats.org for assistance.
COMMENTS
2 responses to “New Name, Same Mission”
What a cockamamie idea! “Supporter” and “Member” do NOT mean the same thing! One can be a supporter without being a member. I was going to join until you became part of AARP, and organization I’m not that happy with, even though I am a member. If I join Senior Planet, am I, or am I not, a member? We have different words for good reasons, to distinguish things from each other. If I my status is as a member, call me a “member”. That’s the correct word for it. BTW, if I’m a member of AARP, am I automatically a member of Senior Planet? If not, why not?
I notice you still use “membership”@seniorplanet.org for your email address. I guess you can’t get away from that, can you? There is no such word as “supportership”!
Hi Rose – Thanks for your candid feedback. The decision to change Senior Planet Members to Supporters was made primarily to reduce the kind of confusion that you are describing. Even though we are affiliated with AARP, we retain our separate corporate status, board, and personnel. So to answer your specific question, people who are members of AARP are not automatically members of Senior Planet. Nor will Senior Planet “Supporters” be automatically members of AARP. Affiliation brings many opportunities to OATS (and AARP, I might add) that wouldn’t have been otherwise possible, but it also brings the challenge to maintain our organizational mission and identity, and communicate clearly about it. Hence the language change.
We decided on “Supporters” after an extensive process of surveys, focus groups, and feedback from the Senior Planet community. Like all language choices, it’s not perfect, but we believe it is an accurate representation of the amazing people who make our community so special. Every day, I hear about Senior Planet Supporters going out of their way to help their peers, answering questions and contributing to a welcoming online community.
Again, thanks so much for your honest questions and feedback. We love hearing from you, so feel free to give us a call at 917-863-4658 if you’d like to talk further.
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