FOA Launches Communications Initiative
Fort Collins, Colorado (September 15, 2009): The Foundation on Aging for Larimer County, Inc. (FOA), has launched a comprehensive website to encourage community and business leaders’ awareness of and involvement in aging issues in Larimer County. The FOA, which provides emergency funding for seniors’ needs, has initiated the website as the first step in a comprehensive communication initiative, which will include the face-to-face Summit on Aging on January 22, 2010, in Fort Collins.
The Foundation on Aging website (www.foundationonagingforlarimer.org) is focused upon bringing to light the pressing issues of aging, and engaging the public and members of the local business community in dialogue about creative solutions to current and future challenges. According to Bonnie Shetler, FOA President, “The website is designed to introduce and provide background on some identified challenges for the elderly, such as transportation, economic security, housing, support services, health care, and nutrition.”
Information sources include articles by experts in senior services and issues and information from the literature on aging. Ms. Shetler adds, “Just as important as the information we provide is the information users bring to the site. Discussion areas offer a chance for collaboration among various sectors of the community, such as the public, business, service providers, programs, and community leaders.” From this discussion on the FOA website, themes will emerge for the Summit on Aging, a venue for the collaborative exploration of innovative solutions for the problems and challenges of the aging phenomenon faced by the Ft. Collins community in coming years.
This cooperative approach among all sectors of the population is crucial: U.S. Census Bureau data project that the number of Colorado residents aged 65 or older will more than double between 2000 and 2030, growing from 416,073 (9.7% of the population) to 956,278 (16.5%). Services must meet the needs of residents of all ages, and ensure that they are meaningfully engaged in the life of the community.
The FOA’s focus involves bringing to the fore the strengths and needs of Larimer County’s graying population—a pressing need as Census data project a 54.3% growth in the 60+ population in Larimer County between 2000 and 2012.
The FOA partners with the Larimer County Office on Aging (LCOOA)—an agency that conducts research, offers support, and advocates for seniors—to provide funding to allow the local service provider network to fill gaps in existing services and address seniors’ unmet needs. The FOA is a non-profit, 501c3 community organization. It was formed in 1986, when the number of older residents in Larimer County was growing every year, but federal and state funding was not keeping pace. Since then, FOA efforts have been twofold: to implement and administer an emergency support fund for older people whose needs are not met because of gaps in the existing service network, and to provide community education and increase awareness about aging issues.
The FOA is currently offering sponsorships for the upcoming Larimer County Summit on Aging. To be part of these important initiatives, please contact the FOA.
Bonnie Shetler, President
Foundation on Aging for Larimer County, Inc.
P.O. Box 288
Fort Collins, CO 80522
Tel.: 970-224-5476
E-mail: bshetler@foundationonagingforlarimer.org
Website: www.foundationonagingforlarimer.org
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