Pillsbury United Communities – Oak Park Center wins assistance for older adult services: Award will help meet emerging needs of aging in community

Minneapolis, MN, April 23, 2008 — Pillsbury United Communities – Oak Park Center, a human service organization in near north Minneapolis, has been named by the Alliance for Children and Families to receive mentoring assistance to enhance quality-aging services. Pillsbury United Communities – Oak Park Center was one of 10 agencies across the United States selected though a competitive, national process to receive the grant.

The grant is part of the New Age of Aging, a five-year initiative of the Alliance for Children and Families designed to help prepare human service organizations throughout North America to best provide services for older adults as the vast baby boom generation ages. The five-year, $2.6 million project is funded by the Atlantic Philanthropies.

Pillsbury United Communities – Oak Park Center was selected to receive mentoring support because it is interested in aging issues and wants to enhance current aging services or gain competency in the field.

“This opportunity puts Pillsbury United Communities and Oak Park in a strong position to move forward in expanding and strengthening services for older adults in north Minneapolis,” said Tony Wagner, President of Pillsbury United Communities. “We are proud to have this opportunity to help meet the tremendous need of serving older adults.”

According to the most recent U.S. Census projections, 71.5 million Americans will reach age 65 by 2030, double the number in 2003. By 2050 that figure will grow to 86.7 million, at which point the population over age 65 will be more than 20 percent of the total. The aging boom will create a need for more human services for older adults, while the character of this generation will likely require new approaches and new paradigms for serving the aging population.

The Alliance for Children and Families, headquartered in Milwaukee, is the nation’s largest membership association of private, nonprofit human service providers. Its mission is to build the capacity of its members and to serve and advocate for children, families, and communities. The more than 370 members of the Alliance provide an array of community-based programs and services to all generations, serving close to 3.4 million people each year.

For more information on the New Age of Aging project, contact Jonette N. Arms, project director, at [email protected] or 800-221-3726, ext. 3692.