By Sue Burghard Brooks Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday as far back as I can remember. There was something magical about Mom, Dad, my brother and me piling into the family car on Thanksgiving eve and driving from our NJ home to upstate NY. We’d always spend “turkey day” and a few days […]
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Grand-families: A different call to action
Guest blog by NJAAW Board member Dr. Charisse Smith. In the spring of 2020, I heralded a call to action for grand-families across New Jersey. Grandparents and other older family members bravely took on the challenge of helping their students with remote or virtual learning during COVID-19. They assisted their young students with logging onto […]
Resources for Grandfamilies: A different call to action
https://www.njaaw.org/2021/11/01/grand-families-call-to-action/These ideas and resources for my guest blog titled “Grandfamilies: A different call to action” are just a small slice of the Social Emotional Learning (SEL) pie. Grand-family members: Our students still need you! Use those SEL skills that have carried you through life and life’s challenges. Thank you! SEL partnership questions for the student’s […]
National Grandparents Day – what’s the story behind the day?
by Sue Brooks The pandemic has had a harsh impact on our ability to spend time with older relatives, such as grandparents. Conversely, it has awakened us to just how much we cherish those intergenerational ties. Sunday, Sept. 12 is National Grandparents Day and we wondered about its history. There appear to be three people […]
Avoiding COVID-19 Vaccination Scams
Guest blog by Charles Clarkson, Esq., Project Director, Senior Medicare Patrol of New Jersey On March 13, 2020, a national health emergency was declared due to the coronavirus pandemic. After many years of running the Senior Medicare Patrol of New Jersey (SMP), I knew it was only a matter of time before we starting seeing […]
Aging Well – Moving Forward Together
Excerpt from a speech by Cathy Rowe, DrPH, NJAAW’s new Executive Director For the last four to five years, I have been deeply involved in age-friendly efforts and communities, and as you have heard in recent weeks — and from some of our [conference] speakers — NJ has committed to becoming an age-friendly state. So, […]
Guest blog by Mark Tabakman, NJAAW Board member
I remember growing up and watching my aging grandmother sit by her living room window, looking out, waiting for nothing in particular to happen – just watching her life pass her by. That sad, helpless memory always stayed with me, but I was never able to take that sadness and transform it something productive, something […]
COVID-19 and Senior Volunteering: To Serve or Not to Serve?
The onset of the pandemic hit NJ’s Foster Grandparent Program hard. The novel coronavirus was particularly concerning to our program because according to public health officials, two of the most vulnerable groups at risk were seniors aged 65 and older and school-age children. Unfortunately, those also happen to be the core segments of our program’s […]
Caregiving 101: for those who are new to the role
Many families and loved ones across the nation are held together by the support of their caregivers. Day in and day out, these brave individuals are the ones making the sacrifice to ensure the well-being of so many. According to “2020 Report: Caregiving in the U.S.,” a May 2020 research report from AARP, there are an estimated […]
Seeing Less/Enjoying More: Living with Permanent Vision Loss
by guest blogger Annemarie Cooke You – or someone you care about – are older, and having trouble reading print. The simple act of scanning a printed page visually is now laborious and slow-going. It’s time to get that checked out with the eye doctor. After running some tests, the doctor’s declaration is all-too-familiar and […]