You live. You learn. You give back.
That’s the heartbeat of the AARP Purpose Prize® and the reason we set out to tell the story of Renee Fluker, a Detroit mother, social worker, and mentor who turned her life experience into a launching pad for thousands of young people.
At 50, Renee didn’t retire. She rose. She founded the Midnight Golf Program to help close the opportunity gap for Black youth in Detroit. What began with 17 students has grown into a college-bound pipeline serving over 5,000 teens, many of whom are first-generation college students. Through mentorship, life skills training, and the discipline of golf, Renee built more than a program, she built a movement rooted in equity, belief, and unwavering support.
The Purpose Prize honors changemakers like Renee, people over 50 who use the wisdom they’ve earned to change the world around them. Our objective was to do more than film a tribute. We wanted to light a fire. To show how one woman’s quiet consistency and unapologetic love are rewriting futures, and how AARP is helping her dream bigger, build stronger, and reach farther.
This story proves what we know to be true: Purpose isn’t something you age out of, it’s something you grow into. And when that purpose is honored and amplified, it doesn’t just change lives. It changes what people believe is possible.
Renee Fluker doesn’t chase attention. She chases impact. That made our job harder—and more important.
We knew we couldn’t just interview her. We had to follow her. Into classrooms. Onto driving ranges. Into spaces where Detroit youth were laughing, learning, and looking her dead in the eye with trust. Because that’s what Renee does: she shows up. She remembers names. She answers texts at midnight. She invites students into her home. She believes in kids long before they believe in themselves.
So our strategy was simple: follow the love.
We filmed her in action with her son, students, and alumni. We captured what a mentorship dinner really feels like, shoulders touching, etiquette lessons over pasta, teenagers soaking up life advice like air. We filmed the discipline of golf, the intensity of life skills training, and the tenderness of real talk between generations.
Getting Renee to talk about herself was the hard part. She’s not in it for awards. She’s a builder. But her students had no trouble telling us what she meant to them.
Renita: “Midnight Golf believed in me before I believed in myself. Period.”
Devonte: “This program is the light. It’s the reason I see possibility.”
Dara, now in college: “Ms. Renee fed me when my mother couldn’t. Paid for my insulin. Took me in. She’s a mother to thousands.”
And Renee? She told us the truth. “I knocked on doors. One kid shoved me off the porch and said, ‘Lady, I don’t wanna learn how to play them sticks.’” Still, she came back. Again and again. That’s how Midnight Golf grew from a small idea to a movement that’s taken over Detroit.
The AARP Purpose Prize didn’t just hand Renee a check. It gave her momentum. A platform. A push. The $50,000 prize helped build a 40,000-square-foot headquarters with a golf arena. The year of technical support meant branding help, leadership coaching, and a vision beyond her.
This video was more than content. It was a mirror. A spotlight. A megaphone. It lives on social, in press kits, in donor decks, and on tour with her students. It’s a spark for conversations about equity, aging, and what’s possible when you don’t give up.
Midnight Golf isn’t about golf. It’s about showing up for kids no one else sees. And Renee? She’s the kind of leader AARP was built to celebrate. She doesn’t just teach purpose. She lives it.
This video made people feel something and then do something.
With AARP’s backing, Renee Fluker received $50,000 to help open a permanent home for Midnight Golf: a 40,000-square-foot building that now serves as a sanctuary, a classroom, and a launchpad for hundreds of Detroit teens each year.
The video became a power tool. Not just for press but for progress. It rolled out across AARP.org, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and internal platforms. It traveled to donor meetings, college fairs, and alumni events. It helped secure new funders. New fans. New believers.
And maybe most important of all—it helped Renee see herself. For the first time, she paused to reflect. On what she built. On the lives she’s changed. On the future that now has a brick-and-mortar home because AARP said: You matter. Your work matters. And we’re going to make sure the world knows it.
This wasn’t just a win for Renee. It was a win for every person over 50 who’s been told their best years are behind them. AARP flipped that script. This story says otherwise.
Because purpose doesn’t end at 50. With the right support, it explodes.
