Combat Ageism and Celebrate Aging During Older Americans Month—And Beyond
Every May, we honor older adults through Older Americans Month (OAM). The 2025 theme—Flip the Script on Aging—focuses on reducing ageism by shifting negative perceptions of older adults and aging. This includes highlighting the contributions of older adults and encouraging communities to embrace the lifetime of experiences, wisdom and talents of older adults. This Older Americans Month (and all year long) we challenge you to explore opportunities within your community to engage older adults and promote positive images of growing old by addressing negative stereotypes or misconceptions on aging.
National Resources to Recognize Older Americans Month
USAging’s engAGED Resource Center has a variety of resources that focus on the contributions of older adults and benefits of aging. Check out these resources from the Community Awareness Toolkit:
The photo compilation document contains free images for organizations to use on social media and in newsletters to depict social engagement and to mitigate the negative stereotypes of aging often portrayed in images.
The Consumer Brochure highlights the benefits of remaining socially engaged, including benefits to the community, and how older adults can engage in their communities.
The PowerPoint presentation offers ready-to-use slides on social isolation, loneliness and social engagement and highlights the value of engagement.
There are many organizations working to change how aging is perceived. Learn more below about available resources to support your work.
The National Center to Reframe Aging is dedicated to ending ageism and changing how our society addresses aging. The National Center works at all levels from providing resources to local community-based organizations to informing national policy makers to share stories about aging. Visit reframingaging.org to access tip sheets, guides, webinars and other tools to provide helpful framing when communicating about aging.
In recognition of OAM, the National Center hosted a webinar on how to take this year's theme, Flip the Script on Aging, and put it into action. Find the webinar and associated toolkit here.
The American Society on Aging (ASA) supports professionals working in aging to improve public perception of aging and reduce ageism through education, research and advocacy. With ageism as one of their top programmatic priorities, ASA provides resources for Ageism Awareness Day and other initiatives aimed at addressing ageism.
Activities to Celebrate Older Americans Month
OAM is a great opportunity to highlight the older adults in your community and the contributions they bring. Here are a few ideas to inspire you to take action this OAM:
Encourage older adults to share their story. Whether this is done in person or through social media, storytelling connects older adults with those around them and allows them to pass along their wisdom.
Get engaged and spread the word! To support OAM, the Administration for Community Living provides a variety of resources from sample social media posts to graphics including logos, Zoom backgrounds and flyers. Explore what others are doing by using #OlderAmericansMonth on social media and consider sharing your own activities.
Host an intergenerational event. Bringing together differing generations spurs connection and dispels stereotypes, benefiting both parties.
Spread awareness on the harms of ageism. Review materials you share with the community and the language you use to ensure that it promotes aging in a positive light.
For more ideas on programs and activities to engage older adults in your community, check out the engAGED Social Engagement Innovations Hub.