The Senior Agenda Coali­tion Con­fer­ence and Expo for Seniors will be held on Fri­day, Octo­ber 30, 2009, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Warwick.

There will be fifty exhibits of ser­vices and pro­grams for seniors, and a keynote speech by Jan­ice Blan­chard, titled “Civic Engage­ment”. There will also be sev­eral work­shops and great oppor­tu­ni­ties to learn.

To read about the work­shops and how to reg­is­ter, click the Read More link below, or go directly to Senior Agenda RI’s web­site by click­ing here.

Con­fer­ence Workshops:

• Vol­un­teer­ing Oppor­tu­ni­ties: hosted by Serve Rhode Island, this will explore the rapidly-​​growing oppor­tu­ni­ties for seniors to make sig­nif­i­cant con­tri­bu­tions to the com­mu­nity through volunteering.
• Fit­ness and Nutri­tion: Will fea­ture exer­cises that can be done at home, as well infor­ma­tion about com­pet­i­tive activ­i­ties such as RI Ocean Tides Senior Games. Dr. Mary Flynn, famous for “Mary’s Meals”, will dis­cuss her approach to a healthy diet, plus tips for seniors. Enroll­ment will be lim­ited to allow for a “hands-​​on” expe­ri­ence. (Work­shop will be offered twice.)
• Social Activism: Mem­bers of the Mass. Senior Action Coun­cil, RI Gray Pan­thers and RI Orga­niz­ing Project will explain how seniors can mobi­lize to win victories.
• Com­mu­ni­ties With­out Walls: Learn about Boston’s Bea­con Hill Vil­lage and three emerg­ing RI mutual sup­port senior com­mu­ni­ties. (Work­shop will be offered twice.)
• Life­long Learn­ing: Find out about a range of learn­ing activ­i­ties for seniors at inde­pen­dent and university-​​based programs.
• National Health­care Reform Update: the lat­est word from Wash­ing­ton, with empha­sis on impact on Medicare and Medicaid.
• RI’s Global Med­ic­aid Waiver: how it’s being imple­mented, what does it mean for long-​​term care for seniors. Mod­er­ated by Mau­reen Mai­gret, for­mer RI Direc­tor of Elderly Affairs and Pol­icy Direc­tor for Lt. Gov. Charles Fogarty.
• National and Com­mu­nity Ser­vice Options for Seniors: learn how Peace Corps, Ameri­corps and VISTA are seek­ing senior vol­un­teers, and hear from seniors who have served.

Reg­is­tra­tion information

Fees:

• Seniors (age 60+), retired or unem­ployed: $10
• Staff or Vol­un­teers from Senior Agenda Agency: $35
• Gen­eral Pub­lic: $45
• (Reg­is­tra­tion fee includes con­ti­nen­tal break­fast and lunch.)

To reg­is­ter, go to Senior Agenda RI’s web­site by click­ing here, and reg­is­ter using the form on that site. If you need help, send e-​​mail to  senior­a­gen­dari [at] yahoo [dot] com
or call (401) 274‑6900 x205