This year's AARP Andrus Award recipient finds purpose through music and community

OGDEN — The moment you meet Alice Cipollini, you feel it. A warmth. A joy that radiates to everyone around her.

It's the kind of light that fills a room and makes you wonder: how did she become this way? The answer is simpler than you'd think, and more profound than most of us will ever know. Alice is this year's recipient of the AARP Andrus Award, an honor given to volunteers who have dedicated their lives to strengthening communities.

At 80, she's spent the last 12 years at Give Me a Chance, a community center in Ogden dedicated to helping low-income families get ahead and feel better about their lives. But her path to this calling took an unexpected turn.

Twelve years ago, Alice was sitting alone at home, grieving. Her husband had passed away. For five or six months, she barely left the house. Then she saw a small ad in the paper: they needed someone for after-school tutoring. Alice was a retired schoolteacher. She decided to take the leap of faith.

"So, I came down and everybody was so welcoming," she recalled. That one decision became her life's work. Now she teaches accordion and guitar, giving private lessons to students of all ages. Her students perform throughout the community — at farmers markets, nursing homes, the children's museum, and Bach festivals.

"I give, like, private music lessons, guitar and accordion," Alice said. And the students go out in the community and perform." Watching her students thrive is reward enough for her. But her impact extends beyond music. Alice has also helped women who have escaped difficult situations discover untapped talent and develop job skills to move forward in life.

"I'd like to see the women develop job skills so they could get out in the community," she said. Alice shows no signs of slowing down. She intends to keep giving back as long as her health allows. But if there's one lesson Alice wants everyone to know, it's this:

"I'd say get out of your house and try something out and see how you like it," she said. It's just, there's so many other people that are deserving also, so it just is very humbling."

Alice invites anyone interested to visit Give Me a Chance community center. Tour the building, walk the gardens, have a picnic, and explore the after-school programs. Who knows — you might end up staying for a while, just like she did.

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