About Town -
the Latest Lifelong Maine News!
updates and CELEBRATIONS - A sampling of your Recent notes

 Age-Friendly Biddeford has launched a website and is excited to announce that they are partnering with Heart of Biddeford for fiscal sponsorship

Berwick for a Lifetime worked with Berwick Community Television to put together this promotional video!

Age and Ability Friendly Bucksport published Healthy Homes for Older Adults, with information about free and fee-based services available to help older residents repair or modify their homes. Each of the businesses listed in the brochure has made a commitment to working with older residents and responding to service requests within 72 hours.

Age Friendly Caribou is committed to the power of partnerships and community engagement. This year, they invited community members to join them in the fun of preparing the gardens! 

Age-Friendly Chelsea is promoting community and outside activity for all ages--from walking groups to the community elevated bed gardens.

Age-Friendly Dexter is hosting a picnic in the park in August, with live music, food and fun! 

Age-Friendly Coastal Communities hosted a dementia-inclusive "Walk-In Cafe". Sonya Bates, Lifelong Maine's Dementia Inclusive Fellow, worked with participants in the Walk-In Cafe to develop the programming and FUN they wanted for the day. Now, Healthy Peninsula is planning other dementia inclusive projects. Stay tuned for further details!

Fort Fairfield was one of our Communtiy Challenge Grant Recipients this year! Age-Friendly volunteers are contributing their muscle and skills to building a gazebo with an accessible garden. 

Age-Friendly Fryeburg is part of a regional approach that spans Maine and New Hampshire.  Mount Washington Valley Age-Friendly is preparing for winter early. They are helping older residents stay prepared by distributing emergency packs to residents. The packs include NOAA radios, flashlights, warming blankets, shelf-stable food, and more--all in a convenient backpack. 

Age-Friendly Georgetown and the Age-Friendly Communities of the Lower Kennebec are partnering to offer a a two-part series on Artificial Intelligence.

Hallowell All Age-Friendly 

• Hallowell All Age-Friendly and their partners are excited to start their Challenge Grant project! They are working to make an area near their riverfront more welcoming to people of all abilities by adding picnic tables and bike racks. Pictured: Karen, Hallowell Conservation Commission; Wes,  HallowellTree Board; Bob, Hallowell Age Friendly Committee; Sylvie, Vision Hallowell.

• The team is delighted to have published another edition of the Hallowell Champion! To read the latest edition, click here. 

Age-Friendly Lewiston is excited to share that they partnered with Lewiston Recreation Department and Community Credit Union for a year long series on financial planning!

Living Well in Madison has launched a volunteer transportation program! The team is also excited to announce a new app that will allow residents to easily communicate with the town office and will allow emergency services to send messages to residents to help them prepare for a weather emergency.  

Age-Friendly Millinocket is partnering with the Millinocket Memorial Library to host a weekly walking group on Michaud Trail, an accessible path in downtown Millinocket. 

Age-Friendly Monmouth is enjoying a busy summer!

• Starting a Medical Equipment Loan Closet means that anyone in need of a wheelchair, walker, cane, shower seat or other adaptive equipment can borrow it for as long as it is needed.  

• The team is also working hard to make their meetings fully inclusive to our deaf and hard-of-hearing members by using the closed captioning feature on Zoom with the meeting projected on a large screen.

New Gloucester is launching a volunteer transporation program. The team has already recruited five volunteers and is starting training in Assisted Rides.  

Age-Friendly Mount Vernon has grown to encompass three communities--Mount Vernon, Fayette and Vienna. The Fayette Age Friendly group held its kick off Orientation/Training for Caring Callers,  July 30th at Starling Hall Community Center.  Pictured L-R, Elaine Wilcox, Donna Williams, Lori Beaulieu, Christine Merchant, Deborah Dubord, Alma Rooney. In October, they hosted a successful health fair! We are looking forward to hearing what is next! 

Age-Friendly Presque Isle is giving File of Life as part of their approach to disaster preparedness education. In addition to File of Life, they are also giving information sheets with what residents should add to their emergency kits. 

Age-Friendly Raymond continues to connect children in their primary school to residents of Jordan Bay Place. The fourth graders wrote four letters to each resident and kindergarten students sent another round of colorful pictures to decorate the room to each apartment. The team is also busy creating an elevated bed garden behind Jordan Place. So far, they have two 16 foot beds ready to use!

Age-Friendly Saco Summer is fun for residents of all abilities in Saco. The age-friendly team partnered with local businesses and other organizations to recruit more Safety Rider Volunteers for their CHAT Bicycle Ride program. With more volunteers, they were able to offer more rides. to residents of assisted living, including Wardwell House and Seal Rock.

Thriving in Place Sanford hosted a successful resource and health fair. One of our favorite activities was a standing bike with an attachment to peddle your way to blend a healthy smoothie.  

Age-Friendly South Portland is working with Fire/Police to encourage residents to sign up for Community Connect. The team brings laptops, computers to public events to sign community residents up for the program. We love this example of age-friendly partnership! 

 Age-Friendly Sullivan, 

• With support from AARP Maine, Age-Friendly Sullivan is sponsoring a series of summer concerts in the park. Volunteer musicians gather each Monday to entertain their friends and neighbors in Sullivan. We can't think of a better way to start the week!

• Always ready to join in a celebration of community, the team is planning a table at Sullivan Daze and is co-sponsoring the event!

To re-invigorate Age-Friendly Waterville, the newly formed steering committee hosted a community listening session that was attended by about 25 residents. Town Manager, Bryan Kaenrath, is excited to see what the core team will do to make the community even more age-inclusive by building on community strengths and needs.

Wayne Aging at Home is educating community residents about Maine's property tax fairness credit and the property tax deferral program. 

Age-Friendly Windham is participating in community events this summer. During Family Night Out, they have partnered with AARP to host an interactive table about cyber/Internet safety that promises information and fun for all ages!  

Age-Friendly York is hosting a free series for community members to prepare documents so that their next of kin will be able to manage online accounts, assets, finances, and honor final wishes if something happens. The first session, led by a lawyer was full to capacity with 30 people attending! Developing the program in response to community needs is a great way to start raising awareness of Age-Friendly York! 

Age-Friendly communities continue to distribute File of Life. We have given out nearly 3000 copies so far this year! If you are interested in distributing them in your community, drop us a line (lifelong@maine.edu). File of Life kits are another benefit provided by AARP Maine to members of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities.