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Each month we spotlight a local nonprofit that's in need of help. It's a way to connect our listeners with charities that make an impact.

Get Involved Spotlight: AGE of Central Texas

From AGE of Cental Texas, this month's Get Involved spotlight non-profit:  

Mission:

AGE of Central Texas tackles the challenges of aging with expert solutions, and is dedicated to senior adult and family caregivers to help make aging a journey of compassion and strength.

Who We Are:

For more than 30 years, AGE of Central Texas has been a community leader in services, programs, resources, and education for both older adults and family caregivers throughout the region.  As a regional nonprofit organization, we combat isolation among individuals and families all along the spectrum of growing older, no matter where they are on that journey, by connecting them to the services and resources that will allow them to thrive.

Each year, AGE serves thousands of older adults and caregivers through its primary interrelated programs:

·       Adult Day Health Care: providing day-time care for older adults with physical or cognitive needs in the longest-operating licensed, non-residential Day Activity and Health Service Centers in Central Texas, with locations in both Travis and Williamson counties;

·       Caregiver Education and Resources: navigation center offering free personalized caregiver assistance and guidance, along with free educational seminars and conferences throughout the year;

·       CaregiverU: collaborative program offering free year-round, evidence-based courses for non-professional, family caregivers at locations throughout Travis, Williamson, Hays, and Bastrop counties;

·       Memory Connections: free evidence-informed weekly early memory loss support and activities for individuals diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, or other memory loss;

·       Health Equipment Lending Program: free no-cost long-term loans of durable medical health equipment and free adult incontinence products; and

·       AGE Computer Lab: peer-based computer classes for seniors, taught by seniors.

For more information, visit www.AGEofCentralTX.org.

Why This Work is Needed:
An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer's or similar dementias, and the disease is growing steadily as the population ages. Today's treatments only temporarily ease some dementia symptoms, so the need for therapeutic adult day care and respite for caregivers is at an all-time high and growing. The population of adults 60 and over in Travis Country will grow by 67% by the year 2020, making our region one of the fastest-growing populations of senior adults in the nation.

How You Can Help:

Volunteers are needed for all aspects of AGE’s programs, but especially for the Memory Connections program, as it has grown by 400% in just the past two years.  Volunteers serve one day a week for only a couple of hours, to help facilitate brain-boosting activities – such as arts projects, trivia, current events, etc. – at one of five convenient locations throughout Austin and Georgetown.  For more information on volunteering, visit www.AGEofCentralTX.org or contact Janna Kenniston, Volunteer Coordinator, at (512) 600-9284 or via email at jkenniston@ageofcentraltx.org.

Mike is the production director at KUT, where he’s been working since his days as an English major at the University of Texas. He produces Arts Eclectic, Get Involved, and the Sonic ID project, and also produces videos and cartoons for KUT.org. When pressed to do so, he’ll write short paragraphs about himself in the third person, but usually prefers not to.
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