In 2012, when 3rdThird sprouted from a general advertising agency where I was a partner, I knew I loved the aging services sector. But I could see how unintentional ageism was at play in the senior living advertising industry, and I became passionate about helping senior living communities change their perspectives and messaging on the topic of aging. Today, my team and I are launching 3rdPlus.

The 3rdPlus mission is to inspire, enrich and nurture the lives of people to make aging better. We do this by supporting senior living communities with the SparksPlus Life Enrichment Program that delivers top notch resident activities, 3rdThird Marketing that emphasizes positive brand messages about aging, The Culinary Coach that helps communities to successfully self-operate healthy dining programs and Community Coach, a holistic consulting service for senior living communities.

Most of us reading this article will live more life after the age of 55 than the time we spend from birth through college. Recent research published in the scientific journal Current Directions in Psychological Science suggests that we should emphasize our future horizons with positive self-images about our remaining years.

In the same article, Laura L. Carstensen, a Fellow of the American Psychological Society, points out that a person’s chronological age is “an increasingly poor predictor of social, cognitive and physical functioning.” And a number of research studies have proven that our own perceptions of aging can literally affect our health from heart function and brain function to immunity.

Knowing this, I can’t help but challenge what we learn about aging in society today. I believe we can control our vitality and health through diet, physical activity, and our social connections.

This is where 3rdPlus comes into play. Through 3rdThird Marketing’s branding and messaging, we are putting forth positive images of older people as empowered and self-actualized individuals leading lively, fulfilling lives. Why does this matter? Because as an older person, if I see images of my age group being hovered over by young caregivers or looking frumpy with old fashioned hair do’s — it affects my internalized view of aging.

On the culinary side, we approach food as if it is medicine. Our Culinary Coach division helps senior living communities develop self-operating dining programs that deliver fresh and whole foods rather than pre-packaged, processed foods that contain heavy amounts of salt, sugar, processed carbohydrates and preservatives. The Culinary Coach not only emphasizes healthy foods, but operational excellence and respectful customer service.

SparksPlus is a new division of our company that honors the intellect of the modern elder by helping senior living communities to deliver incredible life enrichment experiences on-demand.

Whether 20 or 80 years of age, curious minds deserve cultivation. SparksPlus brings the college campus experience to senior living community residents via their life enrichment directors.

Speakers from world-class institutions such as Yale, Pratt Institute for Design, or the United Nations, or with recognized excellence as a Grammy Award winner, are on demand, along with an activities guide with additional activities and materials to keep the conversations going.

The last piece of 3rdPlus’ suite of services is The Community Coach team. We have assembled a team of top, senior-level talent that is available to help communities in areas of need, when they need it. A simple service to use, we can help with registered dieticians, culinary management, sales coaches, marketing advisory services and interim administrators. I love the idea of helping the people who are servicing residents in their time of need.

All of our divisions are designed to make aging better. Because when communities are living their mission, our elders are living their best lives. I feel incredibly blessed to have made this my life’s work and I give massive kudos to the heroes in senior living who do the same. I am also incredibly grateful to my leadership team for helping to make 3rdPlus a reality.

Everyone at 3rdPlus looks forward to growing and making aging better with you!