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Plan Now for Older Americans Month in May

Each May, we celebrate Older Americans Month. This year’s theme is Communities of Strength, recognizing older adults as a key source of community strength and understanding the importance of connection and engagement among people of all ages to build strong, resilient communities. When people of different ages, backgrounds, abilities, and talents share experiences—through action, story, or service—we help build strong communities. And that’s something to celebrate!

Aging and Disability Services—a division of the Seattle Human Services Department that serves older people, adults with disabilities, and caregivers throughout Seattle and King County in a multitude of ways—encourages its partner organizations and all community members to recognize and celebrate older people throughout the month of May. Plan now to incorporate Older Americans Month into programs and activities throughout May.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still underway. Despite many people receiving COVID-19 vaccinations, we need to limit contact with people outside our homes and continue wearing masks until we receive an “all clear” from public health experts. This helps keep our community strong.

Even with limited contact, there are ways to celebrate Older Americans Month that will help strengthen our community even more:

• Look for Older Americans Month information in the May 2021 issue of AgeWise King County.
• Visit the Age Friendly Seattle events page and our online calendar to learn about free online events open to the public.
• Plan your own event, ensuring health and safety. Read planning tips here.
• Share Older Americans Month social media posts about the importance of older people in your family, neighborhood, and community. See the colorful #OAM2021 images available online for inspiration, and use the ones that are a good fit for your post.
• Reach out to an older person in your life and learn more about their life story. Better yet, help them record it in writing, photos and/or video (that’s not difficult on Zoom).

We look forward to doing even more in the years to come to celebrate older people throughout our community—not just during Older Americans Month but throughout each and every year.