In November, 2019 Tompkins County was one of 3 counties in the State awarded a grant from the Health Foundation of Western and Central New York to support the development of an Age Friendly Center for Excellence. This initiative is designed to help communities and local governments incorporate healthy, age-friendly principles into relevant policies and programs. The Office for the Aging is collaborating with several community organizations to continue implementing age friendly initiatives. These organizations include the Finger Lakes Independence Center, Human Services Coalition of Tompkins County, Ithaca College Gerontology Institute, Ithaca College, Cornell University, Wonderful Wheelchairs, and Esther Greenhouse, an expert in universal design and aging in place.