American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) was started in 1958 in Ojai, California, United States, by Ethel Percy Andrus, an indomitable woman who strove to improve the lives of older Americans right through her life from the time she was a young teacher to the time she became a high school principal and even after retirement. The not-for-profit organization has as its mission empowering people to choose how they live as they age. Serving nearly 38 million elders, it helps them enhance their quality of life, by fighting for and equipping each one of them to live their best life.