Readfield Age-friendly committee

Contacts: Maggie Edmondson (maedmondson53@gmail.com)

Elaine Katz (elainekatz03@gmail) 

Joined the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities: 2016-05-17

Governance: Town-appointed, all-volunteer committee

Highlight of 2023: One of our priorities is to make sure that Age Friendly representation occurs in all important town projects and/or appropriate committees.

Readfield U Featured in Lifelong Maine News, September, 2023

Readfield Age-Friendly's Initiatives and Accomplishments:

Civic Participation and Employment

• Some members of the Age-Friendly committee act as representatives on other town committees and have been involved in creating the town's Comprehensive Plan.

• The committee has helped publicize tax relief programs, locations income tax preparation assistance, the new law freezing the property tax of seniors who have owned their homes for 10 years or more.

• We always have a table at the polling station on election days where we distribute information about the programs offered by the Age-Friendly committee

Communication and Information

• We have established a yearly "pop-up university" for the month of March in which residents offer classes or presentations which share their knowledge and skills, or are just a fun way to get together. We call it ReadfieldU (short for Readfield University. Website is readfieldu.org) This year we had 16 classes with 70 people attending, many attending multiple classes. It's a great way to get to know our neighbors in the community and, since many of the presenters are older people, it's a way to appreciate what older people have to offer.

• We also have a resource card for residents (periodically updated) with a magnet on the back so it can be placed on a fridge.

Community Supports and Health Services

• The committee helped write a grant intended to help move forward the development of a Community center in town. Unfortunately, the grant was not funded but efforts continue to make this a reality.

Housing

• We have developed a Handy Helper Program using volunteers to assist residents with minor home projects.

• We worked with the American Red Cross to install smoke alarms in Readfield households, for people of any age. This was offered for 3 years.

• We displayed the tool kit for adaptive living at several locations one-year.

• For several years we have had a sand bucket program that delivers buckets of sand to community members who need them in the winter.

Outdoor Spaces and Public Buildings

• We have applied for and received AARP grants to purchase benches, ADA-compliant picnic tables, bleachers, and a bike rack for the Fairgrounds; also installed blue stone for the ADA-accessible trail system (matched by our Trails committee) with students from local schools helping to spread the stone. We also purchased a bench for the highest point on the trails overlooking the lake.

• Funds were also used to prepare space and a kiosk for the historic pulling stone exhibit at the fairgrounds.

• Another grant was used to buy Adirondack chairs for the town beach and the library, a canopy for outdoor presentations at the library, and various other outdoor chairs and tables for that area.

Respect and Social Inclusion

• We have really enjoyed working closely with the library and other town committees on community projects. The library has a book delivery program for seniors who cannot drive to the library and this summer we are collaborating with the library on a "Drop-In" to the library for coffee and a time to socialize one morning a week through the summer.

• We have helped re-boot the Maranacook Community Cafe which runs through the school year and have enjoyed a closer collaboration and programming with the Middle School which hosts the weekly morning gathering. We hope the "drop-in" at the library will serve as a thread of continuity for seniors who particularly value the chance to get together.

Transportation (including promotion of active transportation

• The committee has been instrumental in bringing the Neighbors Driving Neighbors program to Readfield.