When people ask me how I am doing these next two months, the answer is going to be: busy.
Now, I keep myself busy most of the year, but April and May at Area Agency on Aging (AAA) are a special kind of busy, in a great way.
To summarize, here’s a list of what I must promote, help organize, and participate in coming up:
- 17th Annual Legislative Forum: 2-3:30 p.m. Monday, April 22 at the Campus for Creative Aging, 2920 Lakeview Ave., St. Joseph
- Senior Action Week in Michigan: April 29-May 3
- Older Michiganians Day: May 1 at the Michigan State Capitol Building (in-person and Livestream Party at the Campus for Creative Aging)
- Older Americans Month: May
- 26th Annual Senior Expo: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, May 10 at the Mendel Center at Lake Michigan College, 1100 Yore Ave., Benton Harbor.
That’s not to mention the great classes we have starting at the Computer Learning Center like Beginning Computers, Email, File Management and Scam Prevention. Our evidence-based classes like Diabetes PATH, Chronic Pain PATH and A Matter of Balance. And our support groups for kinship caregivers, those with dementia and their caregivers.
For a one-person marketing team, it can be overwhelming.
Luckily, I have a great team of program leaders across AAA who can help me promote things like the Senior Expo to their clients; I have media partners like The Herald-Palladium who give us this platform each week on the Focus page; and I personally have a lot of stick-to-itiveness when it comes to getting things done.
I was originally going to compare these two months to “Hell Week” – that week of finals in college or the week leading up to the opening of a live show in a theater. I guess the military and fraternities and sororities use that phrase too, often referring to hazing or induction rituals.
But as I started to write this column, I realized it wasn’t a good comparison at all. It’s not “hell” – it’s hope.
During the Legislative Forum and Older Michiganians Day, we hope we can reach our legislators who make the decisions in Lansing so they will support expanding funding for a variety of programs that help older adults, people with disabilities and their caregivers.
We hope that our Annual Senior Expo can reach just one person who needed to be connected to a resource or needed a nice day out of the house.
We hope our classes and support groups can empower someone with a new skill or to take care of their health.
As you know, we’ve been serving Berrien, Cass and Van Buren counties for 50 years in 2024 – and that has come with a lot of hope along the way.
During these two, what I’m calling “Hope Months,” I hope you’ll take part in just one of our upcoming events, classes or programs. You could even just sign a letter of support for us to take to Lansing with us on Older Michiganians Day, which we will directly hand to your legislators. You can find that letter here: areaagencyonaging.org/advocacy
You can find a list of other classes, programs and events on our website: areaagencyonaging.org.
I also hope you have a lovely day.
Alexandra Newman is the communications and outreach coordinator for the Region IV Area Agency on Aging in Southwest Michigan. Interested in having an AAA representative speak to your group or organization? Email alexandranewman @areaagencyonaging.org. Questions on age or independence services? Call the Info-Line for Aging & Disability at 800-654-2810. The Generations column appears each weekend in The Herald-Palladium.