BrooklineCAN 8th Annual Meeting - Age-Friendly Businesses

BrooklineCAN (Brookline Community Aging Network) holds its 8th Annual Meeting and Exposition on Thursday, September 13, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, at the Brookline Senior Center, 93 Winchester St. This year‘s event, which is free and open to all, will celebrate Brookline’s age-friendly businesses.

Guests may enjoy free refreshments and visit Expo booths from 5 to 6:00 pm. Organizations, such as the Brookline Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Advisory Board, the Coolidge Corner Merchants Association, and Brookline Booksmith will offer information about ways to become involved in community activities.

At 6:00 pm, Matt Weiss, host of the Age Friendly Cities program viewed on Brookline Interactive Group (BIG-TV), will moderate a panel of business leaders. Matt is Secretary of BrooklineCAN, and a member of Brookline Select Board Age-Friendly Cities Committee.

Panelists Katherine Tallman of Coolidge Corner Theater, David Leschinsky of Eureka! Puzzles, Kyle Perzanoski of Brookline Bank, and Paul Saner of the Brookline Economic Development Advisory Board will discuss ways that businesses throughout Brookline are embracing Age-Friendly features to make businesses attractive to older people and that are welcomed by customers of all ages.

Katherine Tallman, has been Executive Director of the Coolidge Theatre since 2013 and previously was a longtime board member. Originally from Detroit, Katherine says, “The Coolidge Theatre was my first friend when I moved to Brookline“. She adds,“The Coolidge contributes to a sense of community in Brookline. Whether people go to a movie alone or with a friend, they likely will meet someone they know, make a new friend, or even meet a future spouse. We’ve hosted many marriage proposals, in the theatres and also posted on the theatre marquee.“

The Coolidge Corner Theatre, which has had non-profit status for 30-years, is aggressively age friendly with special projects for virtually every age group and every interest. Programs include Senior Matinees, Box-Office Babies, Kids’ Shows, “Rewind” geared to 20-30 somethings, The Sounds of Silents®, After Midnite, Big Screen Classics, Cinema Jukebox®, and from London, the National Theatre Live.

David Leschinsky heads Eureka! Puzzles on Beacon Street in Coolidge Corner, where he has had store locations for 14 years. Not surprisingly for someone who runs a puzzle store, his philosophy is, “Think and have fun!” Eureka’s products include jig saw puzzles, puzzles with large formats, mechanical puzzles, Braille dice, playing cards in 3-sizes: regular print, bigger, and gigantic, and four versions of Rummikub. David says, “The audience for Eureka is age agnostic. We serve all ages, no limit, no particular age, no labels“.

Kyle Perzanoski is manager of the Coolidge Corner branch of Brookline Bank. Other Brookline locations are Brookline Village, Longwood @ St. Mary’s, Washington Square, Putterham Circle, and Chestnut Hill. Brookline Bank also has branches in Arlington, Bedford, Boston, Burlington, Chestnut Hill, Lexington, Malden, Medford, Needham, Newton, Waltham, Wellesley, and West Roxbury.

Paul Saner , a resident of Brookline for 30 years is co-chair of the Economic Development Advisory Board with Anne Meyers. He has served on the Board since 1995. The Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB) fosters appropriate economic growth by looking for appropriate opportunities to develop commercial areas, promotes vitality of commercial areas, and supports small businesses.

Paul adds, “BrooklineCAN’s Age-Friendly Business campaign provides an educational opportunity for the business community. Businesses are generally aware of the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), which requires access features to public establishments. But the Age-Friendly Business program can point out types of barriers businesses may have and what they can do to make practical improvements. For example, a business could mark the edges of stairs and add more lighting. Making these small improvements is the right thing to do and it enhances the bottom line since seniors are a very poweful economic demographic.“

The Age-Friendly campaign is sponsored by BrooklineCAN and co-sponsored by the Brookline Chamber of Commerce and the Town’s Economic Development Advisory Board.

Affiliated with the Brookline Senior Center, BrooklineCAN is an all-volunteer organization which enables older residents to remain independent and fully engaged in the life of the community. The organization advocates on behalf of Brookline’s older residents, works with town agencies on behalf of Brookline’s seniors, provides ways for members to contribute to the community, and in general acts to make Brookline an even better place to live for people of all ages.

For additional information about Brookline Community Aging Network and to request a copy of BrooklineCAN’s informative monthly newsletter, visit http://www.brooklineCAN.org or call 617-730-2777.