Mother’s Day e-Brunch a success for senior moms

Chicago, IL, May 15, 2000-"Mother’s Day 2000 will be a Mother’s Day to remember!" enthused Mollie West, 84, one of 20 cyber-savvy senior moms who took part in Senior Lifestyle Corporation’s First Ever Mother’s Day e-Brunch. Ms. West and senior moms in three SLC senior living communities around the country took center stage this Mother’s Day as they were broadcast live, via the Internet, enjoying croissants and coffee. Up-to-the-minute Internet video technology enabled families from California to Connecticut to meet their moms for a "virtual" Mother’s Day e-Brunch.

Senior Lifestyle Corporation, a leading national provider of independent-style and assisted living senior housing, in partnership with Logitech (LOGIY), a market leader in Internet video cameras, and SpotLife, a new company that enables personal broadcasting on the Internet were the e-Brunch sponsors.

"These days when families live far from one another, we know how difficult it can be to get together for holidays," said Bill Kaplan, CEO of Senior Lifestyle Corporation. "We recognized the growing role of computer technology and the Internet in the lives of older adults and wanted to find a way to take technology a step further and use it to bring our residents’ families together," continued Kaplan.

In fact, a new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project confirmed that the Internet plays a significant role in staying in touch with friends and family. Findings indicated that women credit the Internet with strengthening family ties. "The First Ever Mother’s Day e-Brunch was a true culmination of using technology to bring families together and an example of the kind of leading edge programs Senior Lifestyle develops to enrich the lives of its residents," concluded Kaplan.

While a few of the senior moms were first time Internet users, many of the e-brunchers are frequent Internet users and part of a growing group of older adults online. An estimated 10.7 million older adults, loosely defined as those over 50, were online in 1998. But that number is expected to more than double to 27.3 million by 2003

Mary Ellen Buss, 77, an e-bruncher from the Cherry Hills Club in California remarked, "It’s completely amazing all of this has happened in my lifetime. I remember, as a little girl, my dad holding me up to a little crystal radio set."

SLC provided family members of the senior moms with Logitech Internet video cameras so they could post Mother’s Day greetings - in the form of video clips - online for their moms, grandmas and great grandmas at designated "studio" locations within www.spotlife.com. During the e-Brunch broadcast, the moms and grandmas logged on to receive their personal family video greetings.

The seniors from Senior Lifestyle communities who participated in the e-Brunch live at Cherry Hills Club, Sun City, CA; Kingsley Place at Lincoln Square, Chicago, IL; The Breakers at Edgewater Beach, Chicago; and Pinecrest Place, Largo, FL. Participating family members live in different cities across the country,

Senior Lifestyle Corporation is a leading provider of residential services and care to America’s senior adult population, developing and operating more than 70 senior housing communities with over 10,000 units. Senior Lifestyle Corporation has been an active and innovative participant in the development, operation and ownership of senior housing since its inception in 1985.

Logitech designs, manufactures and markets human interface devices and supporting software that link people to the Internet and enable them to work, play, learn and communicate more effectively in the digital world. Logitech’s interface products include Internet video cameras; input and pointing devices such as corded and cordless mice, optical trackballs and keyboards; multimedia speakers; and entertainment products such as joysticks, garnepads and racing systems. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company’s Web Site at www.logitech.com.

SpotLife (www.spotlife.com) is the first company to bring Internet broadcasting to the mainstream and is poised to lead the Personal Broadcasting category with a fun, easy and comprehensive Personal Broadcasting solution. Using SpotLife’s free software, anyone with a PC, webcam and dial-up Internet connection can broadcast live video and audio easily - just "point, click and broadcast." SpotLife is located in San Mateo, CA.

Photo: Mollie West broadcasts, live over the Internet, from Chicago, IL to her son in California at Senior Lifestyle's First Ever Mother's Day e-Brunch.