The 10th Class of the City's Over 50 Citizens Academy Ongoing This Week

Published:

March 4, 2024

Category:

General

Contact:

Karen Foley - 270-846-9518

Location:

Bowling Green, KY

The City's 10th cohort of its Over 50 Citizens Academy began today and is ongoing this week, with participants going behind the scenes of City government and learning about various community resources for growing up and growing old in Bowling Green.

The annual Over 50 Citizens Academy organized by Neighborhood & Community Services kicked off its first day today, March 4, and will be ongoing this week, concluding with a graduation luncheon at noon on Friday, March 8 at the Performance Club located at Bowling Green Ballpark. 

This is the 10th class of the academy, which started in October, 2012 as a joint initiative between the City of Bowling Green, AARP Kentucky and WKU Center for Gerontology. The academy has been held each spring since March, 2014 except for 2021-2022 and is a key program of the Age Friendly Bowling Green initiative.

The academy offers an in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at all City departments and provides information from other partnering agencies, with a discussion of the key domains that make a community age friendly and livable for people across the life span. Topics include public safety, transportation, the City's budgeting process, aging services, volunteerism and working in retirement, housing, civic engagement, green spaces and parks, and more.

The academy begins Monday-Thursday at Neighborhood & Community Services at 707 E. Main Avenue at 9:00 a.m. and will feature field trips each day, including a visit to BG Fire Headquarters on Tuesday, a live demonstration of the Go BG Transit service on Wednesday, and a full day of touring on a charter bus on Thursday.

Thursday is Bus Tour day with stops at four locations, including BG Public Works Operations Center, BG Police Headquarters, the Delafield neighborhood, and the African American Museum.

The academy is facilitated by Neighborhood & Community Services, and the Bus Tour Day is provided with support from AARP Kentucky and Warren County Stormwater. The Age Friendly Bowling Green initiative collaborates with WKU Center for Applied Science in Health & Aging (CASHA), WKU Society for Lifelong Learning, the Barren River Area Development District (BRADD) Area Agency on Aging & Independent Living, Warren County Parks & Recreation Senior Programming, BG Parks & Recreation Silver Sneakers, and other partners.

The academy does not accept late registrations, but media are welcome to email karen.foley@bgky.org or text/call 270-846-9518 for updates on daily itineraries for the current class.

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