One day, for the first time in her life, a 25-year-old woman decided to reach out to her grandmother just to chat. The conversation soon led to unlocking deep, personal memories they hadn’t previously shared. At the end, the grandmother was overjoyed, because she simply had not been given a chance before to tell her story in a pure, uninterrupted way.

That gave the young woman, Benita Cooper, an epiphany, a soft spot, and a sense of responsibility. She started more conversations with older adults, and eventually found an insight: Letting people tell their stories is a simple, inexpensive, and enjoyable way to make a meaningful, tangible difference in their lives.

In 2009, Benita founded The Best Day of My Life So Far as a small storytelling group at a local community center. It soon became clear to everyone — volunteers, participants, hosting venues, national agencies, even international researchers — that empowering older adults to share and connect the Best Day way is an effective and essential way to foster wellness in individuals and communities. Decades of research shows that human connections and relationships yield some of the most substantial health benefits. That’s why we aim to produce positive outcomes by organizing original programs to address social isolation and loneliness. Through pop-up events, groups, seminars, and training programs, our goal is to make storytelling an indispensable element of living healthy, fulfilling lives.

In this post-COVID world, after a pandemic that disproportionately affected the elderly, and caused us all to feel some form of isolation, it’s more important than ever that we give each other an opportunity to be heard. Best Day’s mission is to cultivate these real connections to help transform our shared tomorrows.

BEST DAY OF MY LIFE SO FAR INC

Sharing Stories. Creating Connections. Transforming Tomorrows.