A Global Celebration!

The United Nations celebrates the International Day of Older Persons every year on October 1 with a goal of raising awareness of the impact of an ageing population and the need to ensure people can grow old with dignity.

Seniors at Columbia University gather for Celebrate-Our-Elders Week

What is Celebrate-Our-Elders Week (October 1-7)

  • Week of recognition for older seniors.
  • October 1, proclaimed Love An Elder Day by the State of New York, is also the UN’s International Day of Older Persons.
  • It’s a time when people and organizations can take actions on behalf of the well being of elders…a fun visit, event or putting in place a new plan.

Who are Our Elders?

  • They have raised, coached, taught, shared with younger generations.
  • Many were hard working folks who comprise the backbone of America’s “Greatest” generation.
  • They are history makers.
  • They are neighbors who often need some help in order to live in the homes they love.

Read more about the UN’s International Day of Older Persons.

HOW AN AGEING POPULATION WILL CHANGE THE WORLD – BBC NEWS

Bésame Mucho

Suggested Student Actions for Celebrate Our Elders Week

  1. Create an attractive greeting card perhaps thanking one or more elders (neighbors, family members, residents of a senior residential complex) for their contributions to other generations or with a personal message that celebrates him or her. Snap a picture of your card and add it to your social media pages.
  2. Interview an older senior to learn about life before you were born. Write up a part of his or her story noting something interesting that you learned. To prepare for your interview, write a list of questions that can help the senior to talk about special moments or special things they learned or advice they can pass along. Post your story on a bulletin board.
  3. Talk with your teachers in September about inviting elders into your school for lunch, special entertainment, and/or an art show during Celebrate Our Elders Week.
  4. Let others know that it’s Celebrate Our Elders Week, time to celebrate the elders in our lives.
  5. Plan an event during Celebrate Our Elders Week that can happen in the future: You can plan a Thanksgiving event, or you can plan to invite elders into your school for MLK Day, where elders can tell of their firsthand memories of the Civil Rights Movement. Then, imagine what activities can be done during Celebrate Our Elders Week to plan the activity/activities?

Celebrate-Our-Elders Week:  Oct 1-7

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