Spring Senior LinkAge Line® Outreach

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Robin Thompson, Information & Assistance Director

Spring is the time of year that we can say good bye to cold dark winter and hello to those warm sunny spring days. This is also the time of year that our Senior LinkAge Line® staff and volunteers like to focus on community outreach. People look forward to getting out and enjoying various community events. I have heard some describe the free services provided by the Senior LinkAge Line® as the best kept secret in the state of Minnesota. These events give us an opportunity to share how we can help older adults and their families. Below is a sampling of events we will be hosting or attending this spring:

  • 50+ Lifestyle Expo in Mankato
  • Living Your Best Life event in Worthington
  • Lower Sioux Wellness Fair and 5K in Morton
  • 2017 Spring Dementia Event in Redwood Falls
  • Bluestone Spring Staff Appreciation event
  • Senior Surf Day classes in Luverne, Springfield, St. Peter, Granite Falls, Canby, Clarkfield and Gaylord
  • Live Well at Home While You Age presentation in Montgomery
  • Welcome to Medicare classes in Mankato, Slayton, Willmar and Hutchinson
  • Medicare 101 Presentation in Blue Earth
  • Older American’s Banquet in Granite Falls
  • Essentia Health Fair in Graceville

Call the Senior LinkAge Line® at 1-800-333-2433 to learn more about these events. The Senior LinkAge Line® is a free service of the Minnesota Board on Aging and the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging®.

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MNRAAA Theory of Change

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Linda Giersdorf, Executive Director

Are you familiar with Theory of Change? Has your agency or organization developed one? Through a grant from the Southwest Initiative Foundation, MNRAAA engaged Aurora Consulting to lead MNRAAA through the development of its Theory of Change. Aurora Consulting defined Theory of Change as “an organization’s story of how and why the world will be different because of what it does. It’s a map that shows how your organization creates change”.

Through the leadership of Aurora Consulting, MNRAAA clarified its purpose, defined its organizational outcomes and connections between them, created a foundation for strategic planning and evaluation, and developed a tool to more effectively communicate with internal and external stakeholders.

MNRAAA THEORY OF CHANGE
Our theory of change shows the change we hope to make in Southwest Minnesota.

At MNRAAA, our work helps older adults thrive in Southwest Minnesota. We believe that older adults thrive when they are able to maintain the lifestyle of their choice.

We want adults to have choices as they age. Older adults who are prepared for long-term care costs; who are safe from exploitation; and who have caregivers in their lives have more choices for how they wish to live.

MNRAAA is the gateway to resources for older adults, caregivers and service providers in the twenty-seven counties of southwest Minnesota. We strive to ensure that services are available for older adults and caregivers by helping our communities and providers access resources. We also provide information and assistance to help adults find and use those services.

Thanks to the Southwest Initiative Foundation and Aurora Consulting for supporting our efforts to develop a Theory of Change and for laying a foundation for our Strategic Planning work that will begin in May.

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Help for older adults and their family members is just a phone call away

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Life can change in a heartbeat.

By KAY JOHNSON Hutchinson Leader

All it takes is for an older family member to have a health crisis. In the blink of an eye, life can get outrageously complicated. You are plunged into an alien world of Medicare, hospital and nursing home stays, assisted living, ER visits, medical equipment, home health services, funeral planning and more.

This new reality is just as foreign as walking down a street in Kathmandu, Nepal. It has its own language and it’s just as easy to get lost.

If it feels overwhelming, the good news is — help is available in the form of the Senior LinkAge Line® at 800-333-2433. Sponsored by the Minnesota Board on Aging and the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging, its trained specialists can help you navigate this new landscape of services.

To read more, visit http://bit.ly/2qly0vY

Republished with permission from author.

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Heritage, Happiness & Hope – East African Elder Healthy Aging Event

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Outreach is a wonderful way to become better connected with the different cultures and people who call Minnesota their home.
MNRAAA and the Senior LinkAge Line® outreach staff recently partnered with Abdi Matan of HAARAN (Helping the Displaced Reach a Better Life) in St. Peter to host a “Heritage, Happiness and Hope” outreach event at the St. Peter Community Center.
Nicole Boelter, Exercise Physiologist at River’s Edge Hospital in St. Peter, led the group in Tai Ji Quan and talked about the importance of maintaining good balance as we age. Participants were also given information and resources on the Senior LinkAge Line®.
“I am so pleased with the success of the event.” said Abdi Matan. “It is so important to offer events that provide opportunities to socialize and learn. They enjoyed the Tai ji Quan because maintaining your balance is important.”
Attendees were provided with a delicious meal of east African flavors. There was also a great deal of socialization as well as sharing of language and cultural differences before and during the meal.
Abdi Matan also said, “I am happy to work with MNRAAA and the Senior LinkAge Line® to reach out to people who spend most of their time at home and have language barriers because the socialization and educational opportunities are so important to them.”
If you are interested in hosting a similar event in your community or volunteering with the Senior LinkAge Line®, call 1-800-333-2433.

Debbie Bauleke and Paula Traphagen-Bossert, Senior Outreach Specialists

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