Celebrating aging and the benefits of active living at any age, Active Aging Week showcases the capabilities of older adults as fully participating members of society. This campaign also spotlights role models that lead the way. Learn how you can join with thousands of Active Aging Week supporters to help change the way we age.
Tell us what you did during Active Aging Week to redefine the term "Active."
Wanna have the power to someone smile? Wear a fake mustache! Patch Adams knew it and retired hospice nurse Ellen Rooney knows it too. Here she has changed the mood of an entire mood of a room with this tiny adornment on her upper lip during a tattoo session. We imagine this is a skill that she perfected, through many years of working with patients in her care. Hospice, she recalls, “is not about treating just the patient. You are really there to support the whole family.” Maybe that is why she is always first to volunteer trying new things, put on a silly costume, or lead a prayer circle for someone who is grieving. She comforts and cheers the room whenever and with whatever means are available. Often that encouragement manifests verbally: “you matter” and “you are wonderful.” And if Ellen “mustache” you a question, you will soon understand that you have been laugh-bombed. Ellen is aging actively, aging hilariously, and aging with full heart-forward!
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