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Month: July 2012

Don’t forget to tune into Aging Insights

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Aging Insights

 NJFA continues to tape and air new episodes of the Award Winning Program, Aging Insights. Did you know that back in May, NJFA won an award called the JAM Award for Excellence in Senior Programming? With the help of our friends at Piscataway Community TV and the support of our Board and Senior Executive Council we were able to make a show that was both educational and entertaining.

 Recent topics have included, services available at the County Office on Aging, advocacy at the State level, navigating the world of elder care and financial planning for the chronically ill. The show is hosted by both NJFA Executive Director, Grace Egan and Program Manager, Melissa Chalker.

New episodes of Aging Insightsare aired monthly on many municipal and county public access stations. You can also view all of the episode on NJFA’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/njfoundationforaging?feature=mhee

The most recent episode which will begin airing on local public access channels in August features NJFA Executive Director Grace Egan speaking with 3 advocates about affordable housing. She is joined by Linda Couch of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Arnold Cohen of the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ and Curtis Johnson of Diocesan Housing Services Corporation of the Diocese of Camden.

Have you seen Aging Insights? What do you think? Let us know at office@njfoundationforaging.org or leave a comment below!

Grace Egan with Lowell Arye and Jim McCracken

 

 

 

Arnold Cohen and Linda Couch

Melissa Chalker with Paula Span and Helen Hunter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Communication

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Communication

¬†I recently read an article from the LA Times, that was run in the Living section of the Trenton Times on July 3rd. It was titled ‚ÄúGrandma, you’ve got mail‚Äù and told the story of seniors taking computer classes. The article was very interesting and there were some great quotes from both the student volunteers teaching the courses and the seniors taking advantage of them.

We’ve known for awhile that there is a “digital divide” among the generations. Certainly there are some more mature users of such technology was email, cell phones and even Facebook, gasp! But there are also those older adults that either fear the computer, or just have no interest. One quote from the LA Times piece that really caught my attention was this, “It scares me”, Edythe Eisenberg said of her iPad. “But when I call my kids and grand kids they don’t call me back, so I have to use e-mail.” This really touched me as a sad aspect of our growing reliance on computer technology and non-verbal communication.

I think technology is great and offering seniors a chance to learn how to use and not fear some of these new technologies is also great, if they want them. However, those of us that are caught up in the fast paced world of communicating with our friends and colleagues through mostly email, text or online chats should not forget the seniors in our lives that want to hear from us. Your mother, father, grandmother or grandfather shouldn’t feel forced to use a technology they don‚Äôt like just because it is the only way to hear from you. Pick up the phone and say, ‚Äúhey, how are you today?‚Äù Don‚Äôt miss that chance to learn something, help out with something or just connect, with an actual voice. It will be good for them and for you.

Technology is good for those who like it, but let’s remember to communicate to each other in the best way possible, which sometimes may be using the old fashioned telephone or dropping by for a face to face. But by all means if you grandma wants to be on Facebook, teach her how to get online! Who knows, maybe she’ll log on to match.com!

Energy Tips

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Energy Tips

The heat is on outside and your air conditioning is probably running overtime inside. This could result in high utility bills.

PSE&G offers the following tips that could help conserve energy and save you money! 

  • Turn off everything you are not using; lights, tvs, computers, etc. Use dimmers, timers and motion detectors on indoor and outdoor lighting.
  • Set a programmable thermostat to your daily and weekend schedule. Raising your thermostat from 73 to 78 degrees can save you as much as 15% in cooling costs during the summer.
  • Close blinds, shades and draperies facing the sun to keep the sun‚Äôs heat out and help fans and air conditioners cool more efficiently.
  • Check the weather-stripping and caulking around doors and windows. Eliminate air leaks between window air conditioners and windows with foam insulation or weather-stripping.
  • Close doors leading to un-cooled parts of your home. With central air, close off vents in unused rooms.
  • Use fans to draw cooler air inside during the night and circulate air during the day. Even if you have air conditioning, ceiling and other fans provide additional cooling and better circulation so you can raise the thermostat and contain air conditioning costs.
  • Delay heat-producing tasks such as washing and drying laundry or dishes until later in the day, and wait until loads are full.
  • Refrain from using nonessential appliances. Unplug or use only when necessary an extra refrigerator.
  • Replace your four most used 100 watt incandescent bulbs with four comparable 23 watt compact fluorescent bulbs. Energy Star labeled compact fluorescents work well almost anywhere regular bulbs are in use and can save you a significant amount of money over their lifetime.

For more energy saving information, visit pseg.com/saveenergy