Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging announces award to celebrate age friendly businesses and organizations

Cook County Sheriff Pat Eliasen

Because age-friendly businesses benefit us all, the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging (AAAA) wants to celebrate the businesses that are setting the bar for age inclusivity. The new Aging Impact Awards will highlight businesses and organizations who are going above and beyond to meet the needs of older adults in their community.

According to the Longevity Economy® Outlook by AARP, the economic contributions of age 50-plus Americans totaled $8.3 trillion last year nationwide. “Older adults are the foundations of our communities and a major contributor to our local economies,” said Kristi Kane, Director, Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging. “Older adults are the fastest growing segment of our population. Businesses that view their operations through an age-friendly lens help older adults age actively and independently, while potentially expanding customer base and revenue,” said Pat Eliasen, Cook County Sheriff and Chair of the AAAA Advisory Committee on Aging. Award criteria include: Business or community organization is located in the 7-county Arrowhead Region (Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, St. Louis.) The business or community organization positively impacts older adults and is responding to the needs of older adults in the community by providing an innovative service or experience that goes above and beyond day-to-day operations, adapting or making improvements to their physical space, hiring practices, training, marketing toward older adults, and/ or customer experience, or looking for other creative ways to respond to the needs of older adults and stand out in their community. Awards will be presented quarterly. Nominations are now open and will be accepted on an on-going basis. Nominations received by June 21st will be included in our first round of awards handed out at the end of June. Award winners will be highlighted on the AAAA website and AAAA Facebook page. They will also receive recognition of their accomplishment. Download award guidelines and nominations forms at www. arrowheadaging.org. The Aging Impact Awards are a project of the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging and part of the Age Friendly Arrowhead Initiative.