Spotlight on Our Founder: The Vision Behind Senior Learning Institute®
Senior Learning Institute® is on a mission to provide older adults and their loved ones the education and resources they need to make informed decisions. To avoid crisis planning and making expensive mistakes. This is done via in-person programming and a robust website. Our founder, Ted Gottlieb, started on this mission in 2017, and there is more to the organization than meets the eye.
The Inspiration Behind Our Senior Education
Ted was inspired to create the Senior Learning Institute® because of how many older adults he met who were either not proactive around planning for their aging journey or were struggling with new life challenges that came with their age. He wanted to provide real-world opportunities and resources for those who were beginning or in the middle of their transition into seniorship.
Many adults are either overwhelmed with the idea of aging or don’t have a lot of information around the transitional process, leading to frustration, burnout, and stagnation. Ted has seen too many older adults who are taken advantage of or families looking for quick solutions around care, safety, and financial legacy, and often taking the path of least resistance, resulting in overlooked opportunities and great financial cost.
The Senior Learning Institute® Impact
Ted has made an impact on many different people over the years. In one instance, he built a trusted relationship with a senior over the course of multiple seminars. One night, the individual called to inform him that there had been a fire in their home, and they didn’t know what to do. Ted met with them that night to create a plan of action. He learned that they had hard-earned assets that were being self-managed and didn’t have an estate plan.
He connected them with a financial advisor and an estate planning attorney to get everything in order. He then helped them find a senior living community and found a buyer for their burned home while coordinating the insurance company claim. By the time he was done, they found a safe place for the couple to live while putting more money in their pocket than if they had never had the fire in the first place. Ted is proud of the team he’s built and the differences they’re able to make in others’ lives.
The most rewarding part of Senior Learning Institute® for Ted is the knowledge that what they are doing is in the best interests of older adults. SLI’s educational partners help offset costs and have chosen to join the mission as a means of giving back to their community. The fact that the audience keeps returning to our educational events is feedback enough that our impact is being felt in the community.
The Future and Vision of Senior Learning Institute®
Our current workload is around 50 large-scale education programs each year, which keeps us pretty busy. We do offer smaller, more intimate “coffee talks” for religious groups and civil organizations that we hope to grow in the coming years.
By expanding our smaller offerings, we hope to reach more people who have hesitated planning for the later stages of life and/or aren’t sure where to start.
We have also come across many older adults who are working on very tight budgets and have unmet needs. That’s why Ted founded Aging Aware, which is currently in the fundraising stages. We hope to give back to the St. Louis area older adults who are on a tight budget and offset their costs of care, home maintenance, estate planning, and beyond.
Collaboration and Partner Programs for Senior Education
We want the Senior Learning Institute® to be the one-stop trusted resource for all of our older adults. We consider an excellent SLI partner to be a vetted company or person that cares about giving back and doing what’s in the best interest of their client and their family. By being vetted, consumers can feel comfortable that they are working with honest and caring providers. Ted is also present to make sure that connections are made and everything moves smoothly, with no cost for these “case coordination services.”
We’ve also built partnerships with five (5) St. Louis municipalities that promote and host our events, with many of the residents appreciative of just how much their community supports them. We feel this further enhances the educational experience and elevates their learning, as they are willing to ask more questions, knowing they will be supported every step of the way.
Why This Work Matters
Watching anyone get taken advantage of or neglected really drives home the mission. This journey all started when Ted met an older gentleman at the gym who had no family support and was starting to lose his way. Ted was there on his journey from being totally independent to his passing. He got to see the ups and downs along the way and decided during that journey to help make a difference for others in similar situations.
Talk openly and be proactive with your planning. Seek counsel from true professionals, whether that be around senior financial planning or in-home care. It will ultimately save you time, money, and stress. Impulsive decisions in a time of crisis are in nobody’s best interest.
Finally, be more open and communicative. So many problems can be solved by asking questions and seeking out the right people to help you. Being unclear only leads to frustration, while kindness and care, reaching out to those in need, and being clear with your needs and intentions goes a long way. We hope to continue our senior seminars and assistance programs well into the future. If you ever need anything during your transition into your older years, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Senior Learning Institute® today.