October 1 is the International Day of Older Persons. While every day is a day for older adults at LBFE, we also celebrate this day designated by the United Nations to recognize the value and contributions of older people.
Here are our top tips for celebrating:
1. Spend time with an older adult
Whether it’s having lunch, helping with a project, going on an outing, or just chatting on the phone, it’s a great day to spend some time with an older friend or relative. At LBFE Chicago, we’ll be celebrating with some of our older friends at our Fall Fest!
2. Learn about later in life accomplishments
Older adults are living life, and some achieve incredible things in their later years. Grandma Moses didn’t start to paint seriously until her late seventies. Nola Ochs graduated from college at the age of 95, and earned a Masters degree at 98. Yūichirō Miura summited Mount Everest at the age of 80!
3. Address ageism
Take some time to examine your beliefs about older adults. We’re all subject to messaging and stereotypes about older people, and it’s easy to internalize these ideas. Take the Am I Ageist? Quiz to see where you have the opportunity to grow your perspective. If you want to reframe the way you write and speak about older adults, take a look at our Reframing Aging Guide or Quick Guide.
4. Volunteer
There are many organizations where you can volunteer to support older adults. LBFE offers many different kinds of volunteer opportunities for people of all ages. Whether you want to make an ongoing commitment to visit an older friend every month, spend time celebrating together at the holidays, deliver food bags, or accompany older adults to events, there are so many ways to bring friendship to LBFE older adults around the city, Northwest Indiana, and Kane & DuPage counties.
5. Make a donation
When you support LBFE Chicago, your generosity makes a difference in the life of the older adults we serve! With your gift, you provide meaningful friendship, programs, and services to the nearly 1,000 older friends we serve who are lonely and isolated.
No matter how you mark this day, thank you for recognizing the importance of older adults to our communities!