Note: Since the onset of the pandemic, all meetings with stakeholders have been virtual, and there have been no in-person events in 2020 and 2021.
- Alliance on Aging meetings took place every 2 months with an average of 30 to 40 people per meeting. This group transitioned to the Age Friendly Lehigh Valley (AFLV) team mid- 2018 and moved to quarterly meetings again with an average of 15 to 20 in attendance and at times many more. ce.
- LV Diabetes Coalition meets every month on average with 6 to 10 people.
- Fall Prevention Coalition meets every month on average 6 to 10 people.
- Dementia Friendly LV meets every month with an average of 15 or more people.
- Age Friendly Design Team met 5 times with an average of 7 people to review goals, etc.
- Consultant Russ Gaskin met 2x in person with about 8 people to develop strategies for building the age friendly team and initiative. Kelly Von Stein (AARP) and United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley staff and volunteers who work in Healthy Aging attended.
- Two World Diabetes Day events were held in partnership with the Greater Valley YMCA and others with average attendance at about 100 to 150 people. Kellyn Foundation, Hellweig Diabetes, Northampton and Lehigh Area Agencies on Aging, Shoprite of Bethlehem and other community organizations participated. (PBS Interview)
- Fall Prevention Day at Lehigh Valley Active Life 2018 with various partners – Allentown Health Bureau, LVHN, Lehigh County Area Agency on Aging.
- Lehigh Valley Housing Committee – Two meetings have been held to date, with at least 50 people engaged at each one.
- Senior Fairs have included Lehigh Valley Aging in Place; Morning Call Senior Expo (x2); Lehigh Valley 50+ Wellness Expo (x2) with at least 100 hundred or more attendees at each of the events. We also participated in the planning process for the Wellness Expo.
- Seniors Healthy at Home 2019 Update Phone Survey – 1020 Lehigh Valley seniors were interviewed via phone.
- Senior Center Listening Tour – This is an ongoing process, with 6 or 7 centers visited so far, ranging from 10 to 25 participants at each meeting. In two cases, the Hispanic Center of the Lehigh Valley, and Casa Guadalupe each had almost 40 in attendance at each location. Attendees were engaged about what their needs were, what was important to them and what could be improved on.
- Senior Day of Action was originally scheduled for February 2019, but was rescheduled from MLK Day to Presidents Day due to weather. While inclement weather ultimately impacted the turnout, all three locations were still well attended, including Easton’s LV Childcare Center; Bethlehem’s Valley Youth House, and the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown, where State Representative Mike Schlossberg and Congresswoman Susan Wild were in attendance. (Interview with Morning Call)
- Phoebe Institute on Aging – monthly meetings have been held since late 2018, usually with about 20 people in attendance. Conversations have focused on aging, and how we can deliver content while also making sure it is culturally competent.
- Dementia Community Conversations and Dementia work group – We recently facilitated the training of 50 new Dementia Friends and 15 new Dementia Champions in the Lehigh Valley. Initial goal was 100 Dementia Friends. Dementia Friendly LV was admitted to the national organization late in 2019. The Dementia Friendly LV started as an initiative of Phoebe Institute on Aging and later transitioned to the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
- Two “Take A Senior Out” days were held. The first one included participants at the Bethlehem YWCA and the outing was held at the Allentown Art Museum, where about 30 people were in attendance. The second event included residents of the Village at College Hill and the outing was to Longwood Gardens, where about 35 people were in attendance. More events have been discussed, with continued collaboration with Allentown Art Museum and new collaboration with Arts Quest, Northampton Community College, Baum School of Art and several other cultural institutions.
- Community Ambassadors of Allentown – This group was meeting quarterly, but met more often as the Allentown Vision 2030 plan[1] was being developed. 15 to 25 people were in attendance at each meeting for a total of seven meetings.
- Walk/Roll LV[2] – at least 6 or 7 meetings with about 25 to 35 people engaged. The Bethlehem Walk/Roll LV event took place June 2019 and engaged at least a hundred people and dozens of partners. Conversations are continuing with LVPC to bring this Safe Streets initiative to other communities in the region.
- 3rd annual Age Friendly Forum was held in 2019 with over 125 people engaged.
