Le Groupe Maurice continues its crusade against ageism
|Engagement
Le Groupe Maurice is launching the second phase of its “I am tomorrow’s senior” campaign. After seeing, among others, the face of Hélène Bourgeois Leclerc age in a hurry, it is now Julie Le Breton and Gregory Charles who will lend their faces to this next phase, which will be launched on October 1, the National Seniors Day.
This time around, the campaign focuses on never forgetting what we went through during the pandemic because, whether we like it or not, we will all be seniors one day. “We are fortunately out of the worst of the pandemic, but although we are finally returning to some form of normalcy, we must never forget the sad events that occurred during the first wave,” explains Rita Kataroyan, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Le Groupe Maurice. “If social awareness is not raised and priorities are not reviewed, we risk reliving this type of situation, and the people most affected will be, once again, the elderly.”
360 degree feedback tools to raise awareness and educate
Since aging well and speaking out against ageism have become its main battle horses over time, Le Groupe Maurice is continuing its crusade with a campaign that also aims to inform the public about this form of discrimination, to encourage them to think about it and, hopefully, to change some of their behaviours.
To accomplish this, several initiatives aimed at educating and raising awareness were developed to complement the TV and print messages, which can be found at jesuislainededemain.com. First of all, a questionnaire was created to help Internet users recognize some of the behaviours that are close to ageism. In order to encourage them to answer the questions, the Luc Maurice Foundation is committed to donating two dollars to an organization working with seniors after each questionnaire is submitted.
And because ageism is primarily a concern for seniors, Le Groupe Maurice has chosen to put them at the heart of the discussions. Host and director Jean-Pier Gravel went to meet them to understand what ageism means to them. Sometimes funny, sometimes moving, unique moments were captured on video, and the result, displayed on this very landing page, has already left many with a smile on their face.
The first Le Groupe Maurice podcast, featuring Mr. Luc Maurice, as well as experts and, of course, seniors, can also be found here! Various subjects concerning the reality of seniors are discussed in a friendly manner, through enlightening conversations and passionate exchanges.
Finally, to mark the occasion, why not walk with and for them? On October 1, a large symbolic walk was organized by each residence of the Le Groupe Maurice, to celebrate the National Seniors Day as it should be. Banners, messages, vitality and good humour were all part of the event. The success of the initiative leads the organizers to hope that it will become a new tradition.
A campaign with a social vocation
Why did Le Groupe Maurice want to insist on these initiatives once again? Because according to the World Health Organization, ageism could now be even more widespread than sexism or racism. Because this discrimination takes many forms, whether by sneaking into our discourse or by tainting government policies and decisions. Because it is ageism that we have witnessed since the advent of COVID-19; the lack of resources dedicated to seniors is certainly the result of a lack of societal consideration towards the aging population.
“Speaking out against ageism serves not only to defend the rights of seniors, but also, and more importantly, to ensure that they can take responsibility for themselves, take their rightful place and contribute to society as they wish,” adds Kataroyan.
So for the company, acting now is not only about helping today’s seniors, but also about ensuring a better future for all future generations of retirees. Ageism is a complex, little-known, even taboo problem, and it is now more essential than ever to dust it off, talk about it and speak out against it. Since aging is everyone’s business, we must take ownership of the problem without further delay.
