Ohio Department of Aging Older Americans Month

Each May is observed nationwide as Older Americans Month. Together with Senior Citizens Day (the third Tuesday in May - May 15 this year), Older Americans Month is a celebration of the contributions our older citizens have made to society, and is a chance for communities to give back and recognize the accomplishments of their elders. It also is a time to promote aging actively and encourage everyone, regardless of age, to live life to the fullest. Ohio has celebrated Older Americans Month and Senior Citizens Day as statewide celebrations 1977.

Ohio's theme for Older Americans Month 2012 is:
"never too old to..."

NEWS: Photo project on Facebook helps Ohioans celebrate their elders

NEWS: Ohio Department of Aging kicks off Older Americans Month and reminds all Ohioans that we are “never too old to...”

Local Events

Senior centers, local organizations, community leaders, advocates and others throughout Ohio host special events to celebrate Older Americans Month and Senior Citizens Day. Events can include health fairs, dinners, trips, contests and more.

Add your event to our statewide list

Find an event in your area

Promotional Resources

Proclamation template | News release template

Event and Activity ideas

The Department of Aging urges communities, organizations and individuals to host an event (or events) to commemorate Older Americans Month and Senior Citizens Day. Here are some suggestions to get your creative juices flowing.

Enjoy the outdoors - Host a daytime camp-out in your local park or visit a nearby state park or nature area for a hike, horse ride or bike ride.

Compete - Team different generations for tournaments in kite flying, golf/mini-golf, horseshoes, cornhole, bowling, book reading, an "odd olympics" or video games.

Have Fun - Throw a pajama party dinner, an old-fashioned spring ball, an ice cream social, a Hawaiian luau, or a lunchtime world tour (different cuisine each day).

Be the TV - Re-create popular TV competition shows like Deal or No Deal, Minute to Win It, Iron Chef, Dancing With The Stars, [Your Area]'s Got Talent, etc.

Golden Buckeye Scavenger Hunt - Create a list of local businesses that honor the Golden Buckeye card and have participants collect flyers, business cards or other promotional items from each merchant.

"Healthy You" Bingo - Create a grid of healthy habits (e.g., stop smoking, walk a mile, park away from the building) and have participants mark the things they do regularly. Give prizes for horizontal, diagonal and vertical bingos, outside and inside diamonds, postage stamps, etc.

The Everything Awards Dinner - Host an awards dinner with out-of-the-ordinary award categories, such as most grandchildren, most states/countries visited, most unusual vacation spot, most musical instruments played, most cars owned, etc.

Swap Meet - Allow people to bring in things they don't need and trade them for things they do.

No-Sale Yard Sale - Get a list of things elders in your group need, then hold a "reverse" yard sale in which people donate the needed items.

Charity drive - Partner with an area charity and organize a group to go door-to-door to collect donations. Or, have a bake sale, car wash or any other fund-raiser.

Facebook Photo Project

What is your 'never too old to...'? From now through May 16, you can submit photos you have taken that demonstrate the theme of "never too old to..." Staff from the department and our fans on Facebook will vote from May 19-21 to determine the top three photos, which will be featured on the department's website for the remainder of the month. Also, the submitters of the top photos will be given the opportunity to be interviewed for an article about their photos in a future issue of the department's Boomerang newsletter.

To submit your photos, visit our page on Facebook and post them to our timeline.

You also may submit photos by mail to:

Ohio Department of Aging
ATTN: Communications Division
50 W. Broad St./9th Fl.
Columbus OH 43215-3363

Please note: We cannot return mailed photos. Posting online requires a free Facebook account, and the photos must conform to Facebook's terms of service. The department reserves the right to use submitted images in its online and print publications and outreach.

About Older Americans Month

Since 1963, when President John F. Kennedy met with the National Council on Senior Citizens to bring issues affecting older adults to the forefront of policy discussions, every President since has used May to raise awareness of elder issues. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter gave the annual observance a name: Older Americans Month.

In 1963, only 17 million Americans were age 65 or older. Today, there are more than 36 million Americans over the age of 65, accounting for 12 percent of the total population. The oldest of the baby boomers began turning 65 in 2011. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that, by 2050, 87 million Americans - or 21 percent of the population - will be age 65 or older.

Ohio has supported statewide activities for Older Americans Month and Senior Citizens Day (the third Tuesday in May) since 1977. Each year, the Department of Aging announces a unique theme celebrating some of the many aspects of our older citizens. Past themes are: