Time for Older Adults to Help Shape What Comes Next – Senior Agenda Coalition of RI – Carol Anne Costa

The “OG of Influencers

By Carol Anne Costa, Executive Director, SACRI

Influence has become one of the most overused words of our time. We associate it with the worlds that live on our phones and laptops. Floods of viral videos, social-media personalities, product endorsements, and often whacky trends. Too often, it is trite. But not all influencers are superficial, many offer terrific advice and are pretty open with their followers. We appreciate them!  That is why @Rhodyfamily is the keynote at our conference (we’ll get back to that later).

But influence, at its best, is neither shallow nor trite. It is the power, drive and creativity to move an idea into action, to bring attention to a need, to organize people around a purpose, to educate folks on how to advocate for themselves toward a goal and ultimately impact humans where they are.

For more than two decades, SACRI has been the OG of influencers for older adults, using old fashioned methods and producing results. Since the early 2000s, SACRI has worked alongside older Rhode Islanders, advocates, caregivers, community organizations, policymakers, and service providers to influence the public conversation and the public policies that determine whether people can age with health, security, dignity, and independence.

It is fair to say SACRI was an influencer before the term became part of our everyday vocabulary. Policy improvements, legislative action, increased funding and building meaningful relationships are the evidence of the impact of SACRI’s mission, and determination toward bolstering healthy aging in the Ocean State.

When our organization began this work (originally as the Gray Panthers), it did not have the tools we have today. We did not have social platforms that could carry a message across the state or the country in a matter of minutes. We did not have cameras at our fingertips to capture moments that championed a cause to be posted as a video, one click online petitions, digital organizing platforms, or the ability to share legislative updates with thousands of people at the swipe of a finger. Not “Boomer” complaints, just a reality check.

Our work depended on phone calls, community meetings, handwritten post cards, letters to the editor, testimony at the State House, coalition-building, personal relationships, shoe leather and persistence. Those “old-school” methods still matter – and still work BTW.  They are how trust is built. They are how people learn to listen to one another. It is exactly how advocacy becomes more than a word or a slogan.

Changing World – Can We Change With it?

Technology offers enormous opportunity for older adults and the organizations that serve them. It can help spread accurate information, rally support for sound public policy, elevate the stories of impacted RIer’s, who are too often left out of public debate. It can connect people with services and resources. It can help a caregiver find support, an older adult learn about benefits, a resident contact an elected official or the Ombudsman for Long Term Care, or even assist a nonprofit reach more people who need help.

Used responsibly, influence can strengthen democracy, support local economies, empower more voices, and build healthier communities.

It can also help us make the case for policies that allow Rhode Islanders to remain in their homes and communities as they age; support family caregivers; protect access to quality health care including long term supports; improve transportation and housing options; reduce isolation; and ensure that the nonprofit organizations doing essential, boots-on-the-groundwork have the resources to succeed.

Do Not Embrace New Tech Age Blindly

The same technology that can inform can also mislead. The same platforms that can connect people can expose them to scams, fraud, misinformation, and exploitation. Older adults are frequently targeted by online criminals, and the rapid pace of technology can leave many people feeling shut out rather than empowered.

That is why our task is not simply to join the culture of influence. Our task is to shape it, through wide education and wise regulation/policies.

Older RIers bring something essential to this moment: lived experience, perspective, resilience, institutional knowledge, and wisdom. We know that meaningful change does not come from a single post or a fleeting video. It still comes from organizing, educating, building relationships, showing up, and staying at the table until progress is made.

We need the reach of new technology combined with the values that have always guided effective advocacy: truth, respect, accountability, empathy, and a commitment to the common good, each of these a treasured American value not to be squandered.

That is the spirit behind SACRI’s upcoming conference, The Age of Influence, taking place on October 2 at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet. This gathering will explore what influence means today and how older adults, advocates, nonprofits, policymakers, and community leaders can use their voices—and modern tools—with purpose and care.

This is not about chasing trends. It is about understanding the moment we are in. And who better than to be the keynote speaker than Jane Govednik. Jane brings the best of all worlds to the table. Jane is the content creator behind @Rhodyfamily with 31K+ followers. As a popular content creator raising three children while supporting aging parents, Jane uniquely understands the “sandwich generation”, cyber connection, and the modern caregiver’s journey. She brings a fresh perspective on the intersection of family, aging, and digital influence—highlighting why we must bridge the digital divide and ensure older adults thrive on and off the screen.

Rhode Island’s older adults are not simply recipients of policy decisions. They are voters, volunteers, family caregivers, workers, business owners, neighbors, taxpayers, and community leaders. They have stories that deserve to be heard and ideas that deserve to shape the decisions made in their name.

The age of influence is here. The question is whether we will allow it to be defined only by screens, snide comments, and manipulated content, or whether we will use it to advance wisdom, justice, health, and opportunity for people of every generation.

We think we know which kind of influence Rhode Island needs, SACRI the OG.

Join us at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet on October 2, 2026, at 12 noon for lunch, expo and a dynamic program.

Following the Conference refreshments will be served at 4:30, as we begin the RI Forward Gubernatorial Forum. The candidates who emerge from the primary will be on hand to discuss, and address the areas of Older Adults, Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health. Be ready for a full day of influence, learning and motivation.

Hashtags #SACRI #APRI #MHARI #AGEOFINFLUENCE #RIFORWARD – know them use them! We encourage smart, fun and accurate posts of the day’s events. See you there!