Programs of Excellence
The Programs of Excellence Awards honor and promote the outstanding programs offered by senior centers across the country. Join this webinar series to learn about these programs and how you might bring them to your community. Register for the entire series here.
Wed, Jun 17 at 3:00 pm EDT
2026 Programs of Excellence - Visibility and Communications
Overview
This category recognizes strategies that increase the visibility of senior centers and strengthen how they are understood and valued in their communities. This includes outreach and storytelling, branding and partnerships, reframing aging, and how a center presents itself through ambience and programs. In this webinar you will hear from the following programs:
Top program:
- MiGen - Inclusion, Affirmation, Community, and News - the MiGen Communication Pillars
Honorable mentions:
- Westlake Community Services Bloom Brush and Bravo
- Colchester Senior Center "Be Like Bacon" for National Senior Center Month 2025
Tue, Jul 28 at 3:00 pm EDT
2026 Programs of Excellence - Health, Wellness, and Nutrition
Overview
This category recognizes strategies that increase the visibility of senior centers and strengthen how they are understood and valued in their communities. This includes outreach and storytelling, branding and partnerships, reframing aging, and how a center presents itself through ambience and programs. In this webinar you will hear from the following programs:
Top program:
- The Woodie Fite Senior Center - Grown Folks Talk: Sex Education for Older Adults
Honorable mentions:
- Colchester Senior Center - Unleash Your Joy
- West Cobb Senior Center - Let's Have a Field Day
Tue, Aug 18 at 3:00 pm EDT
2026 Programs of Excellence - Cross-Generational Connections
Overview
This category recognizes programs and approaches that build meaningful connections across generations through events, ongoing programming, shared learning opportunities, shared spaces, or service-based models. In this webinar you will hear from the following programs:
Top program:
- South Morrow County Senior Matters - Students Writing Senior Stories
Honorable mentions:
- White Birch Center for Active Living - Active Living Program
- Edna Burton Senior Center - Intergenerational July 4th BBQ
Thu, Oct 22 at 3:00 pm EDT
2026 Programs of Excellence - Modernizing Senior Centers Innovation Award
Overview
This category recognizes transformative approaches that position a senior center to remain relevant and responsive to changing generations of older adults. This includes planning, adaptations to programs, operations, spaces, partnerships, or models of service that support long-term relevance and impact. In this webinar you will hear from the following programs:
Top program:
- Iowa City Senior Center - Parables of the Future: Black Future Fest - Celebrating Afrofuturism
Honorable mentions:
- Founders Hall Foundation, Inc. - Repositioning Aging: Redefining the 60+ Experience Through Branding and Community Engagement
Wed, Nov 18 at 3:00 pm EST
2026 Programs of Excellence - Social and Support Services
Overview
This category recognizes programs and approaches that address economic security and basic needs, including benefits access, housing, food security, case management, transportation, legal or financial navigation, and systemic strategies that expand reach and access to services. In this webinar you will hear from the following programs:
Top program:
- Solon Senior Center - Safe & Sound
Honorable mentions:
- Edina Senior Center - Books & Brews
- Amherst Center for Senior Services - Senior Center on the Move
Thu, Dec 17 at 3:00 pm EST
2026 Programs of Excellence - Social Connection and Engagement
Overview
This category recognizes innovative approaches that strengthen social connection and reduce isolation among older adults. This includes in-person, virtual, and hybrid models, as well as efforts that increase access to technology and build confidence in using digital tools to support participation and connection. In this webinar you will hear from the following programs:
Top program:
- Whitney Senior Center - Dementia Friends Film Series
Honorable mentions:
- Preble County Council on Aging, Inc. - See The World from our Backyard
- Gathering Place 50 Plus Community Centers - Veterans Peer-to-Peer Luncheon & Rural Access Hub Model
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