An event of significant proportions occurred on Sunday, April 17 at the Rye Free Reading Room. The Rye Senior Advocacy Committee, RSAC, sponsored an educational forum to bring significant information to the seniors in our community. This was a big step, in that RSAC had a small contingency of members facing a challenge to bring together an informed cadre of professionals to share ideas with an audience of elders.
Since reservations for the event were not solicited, the question of how many people would attend was unknown. The projected estimate was around 30. Instead, there were in excess of 80 participants. Obviously, those in attendance came to learn. This number of seniors was stunning. It showed that there was a thirst for information and the forum was an opportunity for them. But more importantly, RSAC worked hard to generate attendance from the different groups of senior organizations.
Motivational speaker Sr. Danielle Baran delivered the “Clarion Call” to take advantage of local resources and leadership. With humor and understanding, Danielle, pastoral associate at Church of the Resurrection, urged the audience to embrace forward-looking thinking and behavior.
The event was coordinated by the Rye Senior Advocacy Committee and a small group of additional volunteers. The Osborn and an anonymous donor sponsored tasty snacks and beverages.
The event’s success was in bringing different senior groups together and presenting information and options to the community. Their voices echoed that seniors want to make a difference and grow older in the community that they have come to love.
The event demonstrated that the RSAC and a core of assistants pledged to make a difference. Three members from the committee were available to help publicize the event. Unbeknownst to many, there was a contingency of other volunteers. In all, there were six individuals committed to promote and participate in the event. Their work and assistance was overwhelming because each person offered their talents to help spread the word by not only posting the flyers around town to the different organizations, but also by focusing on the correctness of the publicity that suggested professional formatting. All the volunteers played different roles without direction.
Edward Matthews made sure flyers were posted on a number of bulletin boards in the Church of the Resurrection. Josephine DelMonte circulated flyers among tenants residing at Rye Manor. SPRYE, who belonged to different houses of worship, circulated flyers and promoted the event at their organizational meetings. Beth Griffin-Matthews donated her talents to edit the flyer to assure it was professionally formatted. The final details to coordinate the synchronization with the different connections related to event were handled by the RSAC. The food court budget was contributed by donations from The Osborn and an anonymous donor.
In retrospect, it can be surmised that all that was needed to stage the event was a small cell of volunteers. Even the limitation of budgetary assistance from the city did not hinder the leadership who voiced a commitment for change. The event’s success was bringing the different senior groups together. Their voices were the “rallying cry” echoing that the seniors want to make a difference to grow older in a community that they have come to love.
The Senior Summit can be considered the start of a movement to foster the promotion and improvement of services for our growing senior population. This recognition was further fostered by the presence of a number of distinguished elected officials. For one, Mayor Joseph Sack articulated his support for the movement in his welcoming speech. Latimer, state Assemblyman Steven Otis and City Council members Deputy Mayor Julie Killian, Emily Hurd and Danielle Tagger-Epstein all applauded the event. The closing cry from many of the participants was when the next forum will be scheduled.
