“The mission of this website is to encourage city, state and national lawmakers to establish a week between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day,
Sunday–Saturday,
as Senior Appreciation Week. Theme:
Celebrating Seniors!”
OUR MISSION is to encourage middle and high school students to participate in “living-history” panel discussions with Seniors who speak about their experiences during past events in history.
OUR MISSION is to help bridge the gap between generations: Encourage all Senior Centers (during National Senior-Appreciation-Week™) to organize an Open House Week program inviting their community neighbors, including young people, to visit and participate in their programs.
Senior Appreciation To
Dr. Manoj Pardasani
A Delegate Board Member, National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC), he teaches in the Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University.
His Doctoral dissertation, Senior Centers: Patterns of Programs and Services, surveyed the administrators of senior centers, clubs and nutrition sites in New York State. The aim of the study was to identify which factors influence programming decisions and to explore efforts made by senior centers to reach out to a diverse aging population.
He evaluated the impact of senior center participants and programmng on the elderly and received the 2004 Outstanding Research Award from the National Council on Aging for his study which explored programming issues in senior centers in New York State.
The study revealed that sources of funding, participant and staff demographics, conduct of needs assessments, establishment of community linkages and geographical location of senior centers had a signifcant impact on programming.
The New York City Council of Senior Centers commissioned him to do a three-pronged study of the city’s 400-plus senior centers in an efffort to design a “charter” senior center. Two of the eight innovative models of senior centers he studied include:
• THE COMMUNITY CENTER MODEL which is designed around the idea that older adults should not be segregated from the community. A single community center would house programs for children, teenagers, families and seniors and have at its core a health and fitness center.
• LIFELONG LEARNING CENTER MODEL to continue with traditional programs, social services and meals, AND focus on partnerships with universities and colleges.
“These seniors go on archaeological trips to Egypt, ecological trips to China, etc.”
Senior Appreciation To
James Firman
President and CEO
The National Council on Aging (NCOA)
1901 L Street, NW, 4th floor
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 479-6605 / Fax / (202) 479-0735 / www.ncoa.org
The National Council on Aging, located in Washington, DC, is dedicated to improving the lives of older Americans. As a catalyst, the organization coordinates the activities of nonprofit organizations, business and government to develop creative solutions to improve the lives of all older adults. “Today’s senior centers are evolving to reflect a new view of aging that empowers the people they serve. They’re connecting older adults with meaningful career and volunteer opportunities AND increasing their access to valuable benefits and resources.”