Senior Community Services has been selected by Mather Institute as a 2024 honorable mention recipient of the Promising Practices Awards. Now in its fourteenth year, this awards program recognizes organizations that are moving away from conventional practices by developing and implementing new and innovative approaches for older adults. Senior Community Services was chosen based on its service designed to address older adults’ needs for technology education and assistance, and was one of seven organizations across the nation to receive this recognition.
“The Promising Practices Awards honors Senior Community Services for its TECH Services program, which offers a highly individualized technology solutions for older adults,” said Cate O’Brien, PhD, Senior Vice President, Mather Institute. “These award-winning programs and initiatives serve as a catalyst for organizations across the country and around the world to spark new ideas for enhancing the lives of older adults.”
TECH Services (which stands for Technology Education, Connection, and Help) is a free service providing older adults with one-on-one technology assistance. Through TECH Services, clients learn how to use internet-connected devices to access critical online resources. The service helps to encourage greater self-sufficiency, less social isolation, and more confidence when using technology to manage daily aspects of life.
“We’ve seen how someone’s world opens up when they are given the right education that empowers them to use technology to manage daily aspects of their life, including accessing telehealth, ordering grocery delivery and/or transportation, finding community resources, scheduling appointments, managing finances, accessing social groups, and so much more,” says Jon Burkhow, Director of the HOME & TECH Services Program.
A full complimentary report on all the 2024 Promising Practices recipients and honorable mentions is available for download at matherinstitute.com/promising. Nominations will open in April for the 2025 Promising Practices Awards, with a submission deadline in May.
About Senior Community Services
Senior Community Services has been a cornerstone of support for older adults and their families for over seven decades, continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of our diverse aging population. Our mission is to empower people as they age, focusing on enhancing the quality of life, independence, and community engagement of older adults.
About Mather
Founded in 1941, Mather is a nondenominational not-for-profit organization based in Evanston, Illinois, that creates Ways to Age Well.SM Mather Institute is its research area of service, and serves as an award-winning resource for research and information about wellness, aging, trends in senior living, and successful aging service innovations. To learn more, find your way to mather.com.
