Local Older Adult Programs Spark Interest of Colorado Non-Profit

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Guest for Diana Site VisitRepresentatives of the Innovations in Aging Collaborative, a Colorado-based non-profit organization focused on promoting creative ways to address the opportunities and challenges of aging, visited Central Florida April 1 and 2 to learn more about innovative local programs serving older adults.

The group, hosted by the Winter Park Health Foundation (WPHF), included Christopher Garvin, Deputy Executive Director, Department of Human Services for El Paso County; David Lord, Chair of IIAC Board, Trustee of the Colorado Springs Health Foundation and Chairman of the Rollins College Board of Trustees; Tucker Hart Adams, Senior Partner, Summit Economics and IIAC Board member, and Beth Roalstad, Executive Director of IIAC.

The Central Florida trip followed site visits to Portland, OR and Washington, DC.

Diana Silvey, WPHF Program Director, Older Adults, organized visits with representatives of local organizations that serve older adults so they could share information about their programs.

Those included were Margery Pabst Steinmetz, President of Pabst Charitable Foundation for the Arts; Jill Norburn, Director of the Rollins Center for Lifelong Learning; Laura Jones, Associate Executive Director Crosby YMCA Wellness Center; Randy Hunt, CEO and President of the Senior Resource Alliance; Annette Kelly, Chairperson, Neighbors Network Advisory Committee; Peggy Bargmann, Program Director Brain Fitness Club, and Mary Ellen Grant, CEO Share the Care, Inc.

The group also met with several board members and staff from ITNOrlando and took in an after-school session of CATCH Healthy Habits at Brookshire Elementary School. The Brookshire visit was hosted by Holly Tanyhill, Project Coordinator for VOICE (Volunteers Organized in Community Engagement) and Bob McKinlay, Director of Grants and Contracts for Rollins’ Hamilton Holt School, as well as CATCH volunteers.

Patty Maddox, WPHF President and CEO, also met with the group and conveyed much about the foundation, including its early days and vision for the future.

“Their visit was a great opportunity to showcase some of our community’s finest programs,” said Ms. Silvey. “Several of those shared are easily replicable in Colorado Springs, which I hope will be the case. We are fortunate to have two decades worth of learning to share with others new to older adult programming.”