Good News - November 2018

The South Florida Institute on Aging (SoFIA) is training Palm Beach seniors in how to use technology as the non- profit that has been serving Broward County seniors for more than 50 years delivers services within the county for the first time. “It will take a regional ap- proach to undertake the social research, advocate for the pub- lic policy and provide the pro- graming that will help South Florida’s seniors thrive in a rap- idly changing world,” said SoFIA President and CEO Peter Kaldes, Esq. “We are pleased to offer the award-win- ning Senior Planet program that trains seniors to use technology to improve and enhance their social and civic engagement as our first services to PalmBeach County seniors.” SoFIAis the exclusive South Florida provider of the courses created by Older Adults Technol- ogy Services of New York (OATS). Two classes of Palm Beach seniors are meeting twice a week now through December 12 to take Computer Basics for Older Adults. Skills gained from the course include sending and receiving email to connect with family and friends; doing effective onlinesearches tohaveaccess to health, housing, benefits and life- long learning resources; navigat- ing websites and online portals to participate in services, question- naires, prescription ordering and online applications; using google maps toviewandplan transporta- tion routes and using YouTube to explore learning tutorials, enter- tainment and interests. The two classes are fully en- rolled and will be held at Abbey Delray Community and City of Boynton Beach Senior Center. SoFIA’s expansion into Palm Beach is made possible through a grant from the Con- sumer Technology Association (CTA) Foundation marking the first time the Foundation has supported services in Florida. The CTAFoundation is a public, national foundation with the mission to link seniors and peo- ple with disabilities with tech- nologies to enhance their lives. A non-profit think and act tank, SoFIA creates planning and development strategies to deliver socio-economic support programs for South Florida sen- iors that can also serve as a model for other communities with aging populations. Launched in Broward County in June, Senior Planet was offered in fully-enrolled sessions in Fort Lauderdale, Tamarac, Deerfield and Holly- wood including classes dedi- cated to veterans. The introduction of Senior Planet by SoFIA is sponsored by The Jim Moran Foundation, Consumer Technology Associ- ation Foundation, Citrix and Erwin M. Vasquez, M.D. and Elaine Vasquez Family Foun- dation Fund in honor of Doctors NatalieA. and Oscar Nadeau of the Community Foundation of Broward with additional support fromComcast andWells Fargo. To register for future classes call 954.484.7177 ext. 7 or email seniorplanet@the- sofia.org. Visit www.the- SoFIA.org for more information. SouthFlorida Institute onAgingBrings Tech Training to PalmBeach Seniors SoFIA Senior Planet Administrator Becky Smither with Broward County Senior Planet participants Maisie Owens and Olmae Jackson . Photo Credit: Courtesy SoFIA Palm Beach County