By Deb Silverthorn
The Aaron Family JCC’s Senior Adult Department, and title sponsor The Legacy Senior Communities, will present its 2020 Senior Expo online, beginning Tuesday, Nov. 17. No cameras or microphones are necessary; only access to an internet browser is required as each requesting participant will be provided with the website access code to connect to nearly 40 organizations.
“We can’t just stop on a dime, because we are needed and our community has to be served,” said Director of the JCC’s Senior Adult Department Katharine Rubenstein. “We miss our regularly busy schedule of activities and meals together, but being able to have our eyes on those who come through each week is a good thing for us and for them.
“In the past, we’ve hosted as many as 90 vendors and 600 participants. Online will be new, but we’re excited and feel good that we’ve found a way to share so much good information,” said Rubenstein. “As much as we’d like to be in-person, this will give our sponsors unprecedented exposure, and for those who might not have been able to join us on ‘the’ day, a whole year to review and gain access to the information. Each ‘booth’ will have a link to click on, providing details about the organization, some videos and other presentations as well as contact information.”
The J’s Senior Adult Department programming, like many programs at the J, has been suspended since mid-March. Still, its provision of meals to seniors continues, with more than 30,000 distributed through a drive-thru pickup schedule, and Jewish Family Services Kosher Meals on Wheels, three days a week.
“Until March, I was at the J at least five days a week, volunteering however they needed me and involved in so many activities. I miss it so much,” said JCC Senior Adult Department Board President Richard Aston. “The J has continued to take care of its seniors, of everyone as best as they can, and this event is proof that nothing closes the doors completely. The information coming through the Expo, online or in person, is important for the same reasons it is every year.”
All of the vendors for the J’s Senior Expo have pre-produced their presentations, and they are being edited so that any guest can click on as many of the organizations as they are interested in. The program will premiere Nov. 17 and will remain online for a year.
“Searching for senior lifestyle information is important to our seniors, their children and in some cases their grandchildren and we want to be here for all of them,” said sales director at The Legacy Midtown Park Dana Hanks, the new senior community opened just a couple of miles from the JCC. “The J’s Senior Expo is, even online, an incredible opportunity to be in front of Dallas’ Jewish community and to strengthen our partnership. We always look forward to sharing the great resource that The Legacy Communities is to those around us.”
Rubenstein and her staff are creating swag bags of information and gifts from vendors, which can be requested by contacting the J’s Senior Department and then picked up on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, between noon and 1 p.m., from Nov. 18 to Dec. 2. Additional pickup times can be arranged if necessary.
“We’re doing all we can to connect to all of our people, and our seniors are right there at the top of our list. It’s a different year but as always we are here and we are connected,” said JCC Chief Executive Officer Artie Allen. “With this really spectacular program we can still ‘touch’ our members and the greater community.”
For more information, or to request access to the Senior Expo or a vendor swag bag, call 214-239-7183 or email krubenstein@jccdallas.org.
