Nonprofit News Your Community Connection
September 2015 • gazette.com/nonprofit Seniors
Pets
Volume I, Issue 3 • FREE Youth
Outdoors & Recreation
Downtown What IF Festival to spark Springs innovation, collaboration BY DEBORAH THORNTON Imagination Celebration
Prepare yourself for a party with endless possibilities! From 10 a.m.–4 p.m. on September 19, the What IF Festival of Innovation and Imagination, produced by Imagination Celebration, will fill six city blocks in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs with more than 100 interactive experiences for people of all ages and abilities. Attendees can enjoy four stages of live music, theater, and dance, a botanical beer and wine garden, local food, robotics, science, engineering, gardening, and entrepreneurs presenting on an array of individual and corporate projects. An economic development study of the Pikes Peak region concluded the area’s biggest obstacle for a healthy economic climate is a lack of collaboration. Combine these concerns with our region’s highly transient population and physical sprawl, and it becomes essential to draw our community togeth-
A young rider balances on her seat during a bicycle performance at the 2014 What IF Festival. Brad Flora, Imagination Celebration
er for a day of joy, innovation, connection and creativity. This day of free fun is one-of-a-kind among festivals across the U.S.
refrigerators. The face of hunger is often present in your own neighborhood. Roy, a husband, father of
Calendar
Nonprofits launch behavioral health program for seniors BY EMMA SCHIESTL
Innovations in Aging Collaborative
On September 1, The Innovations in Aging Collaborative (IIAC) combined forces with Silver Key and the UCCS Aging Center to launch Senior Reach, a senior advocacy program that seeks to increase well-being and quality of life for seniors in the Pikes Peak region. Originating in Jefferson County, Senior Reach convenes community members and health service providers to address behavioral health and cognitive issues that affect seniors as they age. This is done in a three-tier approach throughout the community: first, local community members are trained as Community Partners, or individuals who can recognize the warning signs of a senior who might need support. These warning signs include confusion or disorientation, a sudden change in appearance, or emotional distress or change, such as expressing the loss of hope. Community Partners can be anyone from a neighbor or close friend, to a hairstylist or a grocer who has regular interactions with older adults. Second, when a trained Community Partner recognizes a senior might need assistance, they – CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 –
and an award-winning part of our community’s landscape, literally and metaphorically – CONTINUED ON PAGE 5 –
Letter to the community: Solving local hunger crisis in is within reach Hunger is an issue not always visible on the surface. It’s typically hidden behind closed doors, in empty pantries and
Arts & Culture
three girls and remodeler by trade, found himself struggling to put food on his fam– CONTINUED ON PAGE 4 –
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