Something big has started in the Big Apple!

On July 1, 2011, the organization Coming of Age: NYC officially launched. Part of a national initiative and spearheaded by PSS (Presbyterian Senior Services), it brings together several leading innovative and diverse nonprofits to provide New Yorkers 50 years old and better with opportunities to connect and contribute to their communities.

These trailblazing nonprofits who joined forces to create Coming of Age: NYC are:

• Abyssinian Development Corporation
• Community Services Society/RSVP
• JASA (Jewish Association for Services for the Aged) Betsy Werley
• SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders)
• The Transition Network
• Presbyterian Senior Services

The New York Public Library hosted Coming of Age's pre-launch event, In Search of Purpose, Passion, and a Paycheck: Finding Work That Matters in the Second Half of Life, in the South Court Auditorium of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on June 29. A standing-room only crowd was engaged, informed, and inspired by a raft of super speakers including: Rimas Jasin, Executive Director of PSS; Betsy Werley, Executive Director of The Transition Network; and writer/lecturer Suzanne Braun Levine, a founding editor of Ms. magazine.

Rimas JasinAfter sharing insights from her recent book, 50 Is the New Fifty, Levine moderated a panel of winners and fellows of the Purpose Prize, an awards program conducted by Civic Ventures for social entrepreneurs 60 and over: Carole Artigiani, Founder of Global Kids; Mark Goldsmith, Founder of Getting Out, Staying Out; Emira Habiby-Browne, Founder of the Center for the Integration and Advancement of New Americans; and Daniel Luhata Shungu, Founder of United Front Against Riverblindness.

The speakers shared their thoughts about specific challenges and how they overcame them using the interests and skills accumulated in their first 60+ years. Hearing what these men and women have accomplished amazed and awed those of us in the audience.

Anyone who is 50 or older and thinking about "what's next" can sign up for the Coming of Age: NYC newsletter to keep up with news, events, and opportunities.

EmblemHealth is the founding sponsor of Coming of Age: NYC.

We send our best wishes to Coming of Age: NYC and look forward to working together in the years to come!

l. to r., Rimas Jasin, Daniel Luhata Shungu, Carole Artigiani, Mark Goldsmith, Emira Habiby-Browne, Suzanne Braun Levine