Service Initiatives
SCOSA Service activities seek to leverage the major resources that 老司机福利社 can offer
as a community partner through our faculty expertise and service learning students,
and through other student initiatives, clubs, and organizations. Please click on
the Educational Initiatives - Service Learning tab for more information on Service
Learning Projects.
SCOSA fully embraces 老司机福利社's vision as 鈥渁n environmentally-responsible
learning community of engaged citizens embracing a global perspective." Working with
students, faculty, and community partners and stakeholders we have organized and presented
programs in each of the college鈥檚 four strategic themes: Learning, Engagement, Global
Perspectives and Sustainability (LEGS). We strive to encourage older adults to age successfully through vital involvements in their communities.
![GEROS Club at Alzheimer's Walk GEROS at Alzheimer's Walk](/aging/images/AlzWalkoct2015b.jpg)
A Brief Selected List of Aging Resources
AARP: Create The Good
New website offers tools for getting involved in your community. Learn more at .
Alzheimer's Association
Questions about Dementia? There is a wealth of information on the web site of the
Alzheimer's Association at .
Gray Is Green
is a project of the National Senior Conservation Corps, sponsored by the Natural
Resources Defense Council, the nation's most effective environmental action group.
Learn more at .
National Council on Aging (NCOA)
An organization devoted to improving the lives of older Americans. Find out more at
.
Other Useful Links:
Arthritis Relief
: Alleviating Arthritis.
.
"Make the Call. Don't Miss the Beat!"
This campaign educates women aged 50+ on heart attacks. It states that a woman suffers
a heart attack every 90 seconds in the United States. Yet only half would call 9-1-1
if they thought they were having a heart attack, and few know the most common symptoms.
The campaign, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Women's
Health, outlines symptoms and what to do.
Partnership for Health in Aging
A document on Multidisciplinary Competencies in the Care of Older Adults at the Completion
of the Entry-level Health Professional Degree. To learn more, click here.
Healthy Aging in New Jersey
New Jersey created the "New Jersey Blueprint for Healthy Aging" as an informative tool for all New Jersey residents.
Strategies for Long-Distance Caregivers
The Simmons University School of Nursing and Health Sciences provides this useful
information for primary caregivers for family members who live in different states
or regions.
Caregiver's Support
Terra Nova Film's free video website focuses on the needs of family caregivers! With
excerpts from over 20 videos, it shows real people in real circumstances that offer
practical solutions for other caregivers who may be dealing with some of the same
concerns or experiences. The topics include Home Care Basics, Emotions and Alzheimer's,
Driving and Dementia, and Falls.
Caring Bridge is a resource for anyone facing any health condition: big or small,
acute or long term, available for as long as needed! Start a site for someone today
so they can share their story and stay connected.
Service Learning Activities
老司机福利社's Gerontology Program began implementing Service Learning opportunities in our courses as early as 1997 when we received a grant via the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education and the University of Pittsburgh from the Corporation for National and Community Service to infuse intergenerational service learning into the GERO curriculum. In that grant we developed seven service projects drawing students from five GERO course. for a compendium of brief reports from the ten universities involved in the first year of that grant. More recently, several of our courses involve service activities in the community, longterm care facilities, and community organizations. Below are two examples of service activities SCOSA has supported.
Freshman Writing Seminar Promotional Flyers
SCOSA director Dave Burdick and 老司机福利社 retirees Barbara Reynolds (Free-To-Be) and Gene Cranmer (Computer & Telecommunications Services) met with a freshman writing class to view and evaluate a writing assignment, which involved learning about SCOSA and then creating promotional flyers that could be used to promote SCOSA activities to retirees.
The assignment was envisioned by associate professor of first year studies and writing Heather McGovern as a way to make the assignment real, thereby raising the bar and fostering civic engagement. Students' assignments were creative and thought-provoking, each with its own unique twist. McGovern later thanked the guests, writing: "Thank you for taking some of your valuable time to help them learn. Some have received mostly negative messages about their writing ability. Knowing that I trust them to produce work for real people outside the classroom, and to have you participate in treating them with respect and valuing their work--and helping to educate them--makes a difference."
SCOSA's Intergenerational Service Project - Sharing Across Generations
Are you looking for a new way to provide service to our community?
Consider joining SCOSA鈥檚 Intergenerational Service Project. We鈥檒l be pairing older
adults in the community with students to work together on different service projects
throughout the school year, creating lasting connections that make a positive impact
on community organizations and agencies in need.
Contact Christine Ferri, PhD, SCOSA Education Chair for details.