Read our July newsletter here.
I was born a month after the United States celebrated its bicentennial. I have pictures of my pregnant, immigrant mother at a vibrant Fourth of July party waving the flag of her relatively new home. Fifty years later, the U.S.’s 250th birthday felt less celebratory. Lost in this year’s hoopla was a complete acknowledgment of the people who actually wrote the history of this country, including veterans, immigrants, and older adults.
Next50, however, did its patriotic part to remind everyone of how we got here. As Colorado turned 150, Next50 contributed to an oral history project led by History Colorado that made sure the people who built this state got to tell it themselves. And while it’s important to honor and understand our collective heritage, we also must continue to pave the way forward by supporting those doing equally historic work.
That is why our team has been on the road this summer in rural parts of Colorado. From the San Luis Valley of Colorado to Northeast Colorado, our team engaged with different organizations and individuals across the state working to support their aging communities.
This same commitment to community-driven practical solutions shows up in our latest round of grantmaking. We’re proud to have awarded six organizations this period, backing them with $2.9 million in funding that is changing systems in Colorado and nationwide. Our investments include easing the administrative burden of upcoming Medicaid changes, expanding digital equity in rural Colorado, and studying long-term care affordability.
Fifty years from now, someone else will be writing about America’s tricentennial and Colorado’s bicentennial. I hope they’ll say that when the official celebrations felt empty, people kept doing the real work anyway all towards a more perfect union.
~ Peter Kaldes, Esq. President and CEO
In the July newsletter, we share our second period of investments in organizations working towards value aging in addition to several advocacy efforts Next50 has underway.
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