OLLI accepting applications for Senior Leaders Greenville

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Furman is accepting applications for Senior Leaders Greenville through July 1.

Launched in 2013, Senior Leaders Greenville is a program designed for adults 55 and up to build awareness of the essential role seniors play in the community and the critical issues they face, and empower participants to become active in fostering better lives for seniors in Greenville, the Upstate and beyond.

Senior Leaders Greenville, a community partnership with Upstate programs Senior Action and Bon Secours St. Francis Health System’s Lifewise, runs August 2015 to May 2016. The cost of participating in the program is $350 (scholarships available). The program is limited to 40 participants per year.

Graduating its inaugural class last November, Senior Leaders Greenville equips participants to be advocates and change-makers, representing the senior population in a variety of ways including serving on boards or commissions, lobbying for issues affecting seniors, attending civic meetings, or perhaps running for office.

Through monthly lectures, seminars, tours and working groups, seniors explore issues identified in the Lt. Governor’s State Plan on Aging, which includes topics such as health, re-education, transportation, senior services, caregiving, end-of-life issues, nutrition, technology and more.

“About 25 percent of the state’s population is 55 or above, and in the next 15 years, those 65 and up will nearly double from roughly 13 percent to 22 percent,” says OLLI Director Nancy Kennedy. “We believe the collective wisdom and experience of Senior Leaders Greenville participants will represent a powerful voice of advocacy for seniors and the greater community, and will help us prepare for this growth,” she says.

For more information about Senior Leaders Greenville including application details, visit the OLLI website, or contact OLLI Director Nancy Kennedy at (864) 294-2998, or nancykennedy2767@furman.edu.