The Jewish Aging Mastery Program teaches seniors small steps to embracing aging & longevity.

Last year, 77-year-old Sheldon Weinberg and his 24 classmates became the first graduates of North America’s Jewish Aging Mastery Program. The diplomas these students received at their graduation ceremony on December 14th aren’t technically accredited by an institution of higher learning, and they didn’t cost thousands of dollars in tuition. Instead, they are a reminder that life is what you make it, and education doesn’t have an age limit.

“This class is filled a lot of holes for me and gave me a new perspective on aging,” Sheldon said.

Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last fifty years for our countries 76 million baby boomers, but societal expectancies of old age have hardly changed since the ’50z. The JAMP class was designed to give people ages 50-100 a fun, people-centered approach to embracing the gift of longevity, and all of the information they need to create their own plan for ‘mastering’ aging.

JAMP is a new program presented by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), an association partner of the JCC. The J Denver was one of six JCCs across North America that was selected to pilot the JAMP curriculum, and prior to the course launching the JAMP instructors underwent extensive training with the NCOA and spoke at the L’Chaim conference on Healthy Aging in Denver to promote the new program. This course included the usual subject matter of their currently popular Aging Master Course (AMP) but includes an extra two weeks to explore the Jewish spirituality and wisdom.

The JAMP curriculum is focus topics like the Jewish perspective on aging, exercise, sleep, healthy eating and hydration, medication management, financial fitness, advanced planning, healthy relationships, fall prevention, community engagement, and living fully for the remaining years. In ‘mastering’ these topics, each individual is enabled to improve their health, financial security, and over all well-being through developing sustainable habits and the support of their community – just to name a few.

“My friends say they don’t need to take a class on aging,” Sheldon said. “I say, we all need to. I’m encouraging my wife to enroll in the next session!” Because of the success of the J Denver’s first JAMP program, we will be offering a second course in September of 2017. For more information on the curriculum or registration details, email Debbie MacKillop or call 303.316.6324.

 

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