Event targets baby boomers

Lakeland, Encore NEO hosting presentation

Encore NEO, a nonprofit organization based in Northeast Ohio that is committed to helping individuals ages 50 and above, is expanding its reach.

David Cowen, who is a member of the organization, said while the Cleveland Foundation started Encore Cleveland back in 2013 for Northeast Ohio, there isn’t a county-level program that really focuses on using the skills, knowledge, and passions of this age group to solve problems in their community.

“Encore NEO decided to have a conversation about engaging encores in the community,” Cowen said. “Unfortunately, ‘encores’ is not an understood term, so we used ‘baby boomers’ instead.”

So, the group organized an event called “Engaging Baby Boomers in Solving Community Problems.” It will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on June 24 at Lakeland Community College’s Health Technologies Building in Kirtland.

Former Congressman Dennis Eckart will be the keynote speaker.

“He will lay the groundwork and then it will be a facilitated process for the large groups and we will break into smaller groups,” Cowen said.

“The idea is how can we engage Baby Boomers in solving community problems. Looking at Lake County, baby boomers represent over 40 percent of the population. This could be a start of a program to help use their talents.”

East Coast Custard will be providing ice cream for the event which will be free and open to the public.

To register visit nvite. com/clevelandfoundation/ d000

Lakeland Community College has partnered with Encore NEO for this project.

“The mission of the organization aligns with college’s mission,” said Dione DeMitro, who is the director for the Nonprofit and Public Service Center at Lakeland Community College. “We are aware of the changing demographics in Lake County related to the percentage of boomers living and working here and we understand how the college is uniquely positioned to provide opportunities for baby boomers as they transition into their second act.”

DeMitro is looking forward to the event.

“I hope that we can leverage the collective impact that results from bringing a diverse group of stakeholders together to address a common challenge,” she said. “I believe the discussion will generate a robust collection of ideas that will lead to a plan that we can begin implementing in the near future.”

Cowen said he came across an article about an effective Hall County, Georgia, initiative to engage retirees.

The program, called The Wisdom Project and Wisdom Keepers Initiative, engages about 20 to 25 individuals ages 55 and older to address issues in their community through eight sessions. The sessions focus on healthcare, business, arts/entertainment, education, government and social services.

The goal is to create a program similar to the engagement model in Georgia that would be geared toward Lake and Geauga counties, he said.

The program is still in the planning stages as Encore NEO is seeking grants and additional funding. Encore NEO plans to continue to partner with Lakeland Community College and build relationships with existing leadership programs and organizations to bring this program to a county level.