3 Great Reasons To Record Your Stories This Grandparents Day

by Chris Cummings, Founder of Pass It Down

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ~Philip Pullman

Thirty-eight years ago, President Carter signed the proclamation to declare the first Sunday after Labor Day National Grandparents Day. National Grandparents Day, which is observed by millions around the country, stands for three purposes: 1) to honor grandparents, 2) to give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children’s children, and 3) to help children become aware of the strength, information and guidance older people can offer.

There is no better way to fulfill the mission behind National Grandparents Day than through recording your family stories.

Here are three reasons why recording your family stories using Pass It Down fulfills the mission of National Grandparents Day:

1. Storytelling honors grandparents by capturing their legacy

Storytelling honors grandparents by commemorating the important moments of their lives. Every person has a story worth telling and preserving both for themselves and their family. By capturing your grandparent’s stories you are honoring their legacy and preserving it for all time. There is no greater loss than a story that is not captured.

2. A grandparent capturing their memories is the greatest gift they can leave their grandchildren

A grandparent capturing their stories is showing the ultimate love for their grandchildren by passing down all the lessons they have learned throughout their lives. Every once in a while I meet someone who says, “I don’t have a story worth sharing.” Yes you do. Every person has a story worth telling and even the memories that may seem small and trivial to you will be incredibly valuable and important to your grandchildren someday. When a grandparent captures their stories, they are setting up their grandchildren and future generations for success through the sharing of their life lessons.

3. Stories are the best way to reach children today

Sitting down and sharing family stories is one of the best things you can do to bring your family closer together. In a world of smartphones, kids today are often too busy focusing on Snapchat, instagram, or the latest videogame to spend time with their families. By taking the time to tell stories with your grandchildren, you can break through the tech barrier and unite your family. Kids crave stories and a grandparent sharing their life experiences is a wonderful way to spark your grandchild’s imagination and inspire them to want to know more about their roots.

Share your story today using Pass It Down at www.passitdown.com. We are a free storytelling
platform that makes it simple and fun to capture your family stories.

About the author: Imagine if you could go back and hear and see your loved ones speak about their life. Chris Cummings, Founder & CEO, established Pass It Down to help people capture their family stories after his mother developed early on-set dementia at the age of 48. Pass It Down is an award-winning digital storytelling platform that is the best way for people everywhere to capture their life stories and share those with friends, family and the world.

You can reach Chris at Chris@passitdown.com.

All The Difference

by Monique McIntyre

This year, on Sept. 12, PBS will air All The Difference, a documentary from Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Tod Lending, Joy Thomas Moore and Wes Moore.

(Check your local listing.)

The documentary follows the stories of Robert Henderson and Krishaun Branch as they fight to survive in the Englewood section on the South Side of Chicago. It shows the ups and downs of each young man’s education, as well as the powerful impact of one grandmother’s support.

For Robert, his fight started early. When he was just 17 months old, his father killed his mother. In that crucial time, his grandmother, Ona Mae Gooch, became his lifeline. 

However, at 62, Ona was tired. With only the last four of her 17 children at home, she had just finally started to see a slower life for herself. She worried about having to start over with such young children, but she knew Robert and his six siblings needed her. 

She knew she would do whatever it took to provide a good life for her family. As such, she decided to take them in and help grow their lives.

Raising her grandchildren was going to be a challenge, but she knew she could handle it. Ona was no stranger to hardship. 

She grew up as a sharecropper in Mississippi, where she picked cotton and had to leave school in the 5th grade. Around 30, Ona decided to leave her abusive husband and move with her children to Chicago. 

Once there, she continued to farm on any patch of land she could find. She tended, supported, nourished and helped her garden thrive, much in the way she did with her family. In particular, her strength and effort helped Robert succeed.

After graduating from an all-male college prep high school, Robert went on to pursue secondary education at Lake Forrest College. During one semester, he struggled in a chemistry class and sought out help from his professor. 

In one meeting the professor told Robert the hardest part of his success would be staying motivated. Robert quickly jumped in and told her his “motivation isn’t the problem. I won’t give up,” he said. “My grandmother didn’t give up on me… so why should I give up on myself?”

Robert's drive, which his grandmother instilled in him, helped push him to finish college.

Ona has been there for all of Robert’s accomplishments. Towards the beginning of the film, he and Ona are shown sitting at the kitchen table while she goes through a box of old items. 

“Look at this junk I’ve got,” Ona says, handing Robert a piece of browned paper. 

“That’s not junk,” Robert chuckles.

She had handed him his kindergarten diploma. 

“I keep this stuff for you to show your children one day,” Ona says.

As a high school and now college graduate who’s teaching math in middle school in Colorado, Robert has a lot of “junk” to show his future children. And he owes a lot of that success to his grandmother, Ona, who made a difference in his life.

Meet Sydney Franklin

From kindergarten to eighth grade, I was a giddy little Texas girl every time the last school bell sounded at the end of each school year. It meant two things: 1) school was out and 2) I was heading east to spend two months with my grandparents. 

Before my sister and I got to high school, and our schedules became demanding year-round, we visited our grandparents in a small town out in East Texas.

My grandmother taught my sister and me how to braid and sew; and thanks to my grandfather, I could manage money and drive a tractor better than any other 10-year-old I knew.

My grandparents still live on the same 20 acres, happily growing fruits and vegetables, raising horses, playing scrabble, and mentoring young boys in the community to their hearts’ content.

My intergenerational relationship with my grandparents is what makes this summer internship with Generations United exciting.

As a Junior majoring in Sociology at Westminster College in Fulton, MO, I love studying people and their life experiences; where they come from, what their intended destination is, how we all interact and how we can work together for a common goal.

For three decades, Generations United has been the catalyst for policies and practices stimulating cooperation and collaboration among generations, evoking the vibrancy, energy and sheer  productivity that result when people of all ages come together.

As a summer intern, I look forward to working on the Online Resource Guide, 2016 State of Grandfamilies Report and the Intergenerational Program Database.

Intergenerational Fun Activities

San Diego County-2011 Spring Intergenerational Hula Hoop

by Monique McIntyre

We could be at a birthday party or cookout. Any time we get together with family outside of our household, my brother will find a way for us all to play Catch Phrase.

This game is played in two teams with each member taking turns being the clue-giver. Through verbal clues and physical gestures, they hint at the word on the device screen for their teammates to guess. When the team guesses correctly, the clue-giver passes off the device before the buzzer stops.

This game, a staple in our family gatherings, is great for laughs.

That memory was sparked during Generations United's bi-weekly staff meeting, which is always started with an ice breaker.

This week’s: What is your favorite family activity that is fun for all generations?

The following activities are ideas for intergenerational family fun.

Every evening after work, our Communications Specialist Alan King relaxes by going for a walk around the neighborhood with his family.

Those moments for him are a great way to spend time with his wife, mother-in-law, 6-month old daughter and their dog. The walks help him focus less on work and more on the simple pleasures in life.

Another simple pleasure is duck pin bowling. Our Deputy Executive Director Jaia Peterson Lent plays this with her husband and son.

This kind of bowling includes small pins and balls that allow all ages to participate.

One of the best parts about bowling is the period in between turns, when you might do a bit of friendly trash talking, laughing and sharing stories.

The latter is what our Policy and Program Assistant Adam Otto enjoys each Sunday he plays bridge with his grandmother and her friends.

He looks forward to those games because it’s a great time for him and his grandmother to talk and spend time together.

Adam Hlava, our operations and grants manager, looked back on his family trips to their cabin.

He described the experience as a dream. There's a lake, paddle boats, family pets and bonfires where he and his cousins would try to out scare each other.

Adam says it was a nice way to bring his family together for a getaway full of unstructured fun.

Just then, our Program Manager Emily Patrick smiled. 

She was reminiscing about her annual family vacations that included a family talent show - one with yodeling grandparents, magic acts, stand-up comedy, and Spice Girls dance numbers performed by Emily and her cousins.

Talent shows are great because they create the opportunity for family members in each generation to show off what they got.

At family BBQs, Carolyn Walsh – who, like me, is a summer intern – says her family shows what they got in old vs young basketball and their family trivia game.

She enjoys swimming in the pool as her grandparents watch. But the trivia game, based on family history, is her favorite.

Her uncle heads it up and creates slide shows with questions about their grandparents or other family members. The family splits into teams. On Carolyn’s, she says her mother is always their champion.

We’ve shared our favorite intergeneration activities. Now, tell us about yours!

Meet Monique McIntyre - Generations United Summer Intern

As someone whose mother was raised by her grandmother – Big Mama – I know firsthand the benefits of intergenerational connections.

My great-grandmother’s influence on my mother helps shape the way she raises me and my siblings.

Big Mama was financially prudent, and as a result ran a household and raised five children on one paycheck. The way she handled money transferred to my mother and was a huge inspiration and the catalyst for my mother’s career of advising her readers on finances.

My mother has since transferred her financial sensibilities to me.

Another person who directly influences my life is my Grandma Lois. I have so many fond memories of her. Some of the most fun we had were at her holiday arts and crafts parties. We would make and decorate ornaments and dance in our chairs to Christmas music.

She always made a point to be at my school events from pre-K to High school and still continues to support me.

During stressful times at college, I am constantly comforted by Grandma Lois’s messages of love and encouragement, which always seem to come when I need them most.

For example, during my sophomore year, I was preparing for a math exam. I was incredibly nervous and full of self-doubt.

The night before the exam, my Grandma Lois randomly sent me a message about how proud of me she was and how I should never doubt myself or my capabilities. Her message carried me through to the exam the next morning and really helped to boost my confidence.

That exam ended up being my second highest exam grade for that class.

Then there’s my grandfather Charles, or more affectionately known as Pop-Pop, who moved in with my family in the months before he passed away.

I am so grateful for the valuable time I was able to spend with him. Those precious memories I will carry with me for the rest of my life.

As a rising senior at the University of Maryland-College Park, double majoring in Psychology and Family Science, I hope to one day help develop and strengthen families through therapy.

I am excited to be interning at Generations United this summer. I look forward to helping promote Grandparents Day, assisting in adding to and strengthening Generations United’s Intergenerational Programs database and continuing to lend my support to the Programs of Distinction.

Family relationships are incredibly important to me.

I believe my personal connections with Big Mama, Grandma Lois, and Pop-Pop will help inform and drive my work this summer with Generations United.

My elders have given me a unique perspective on the past and they continue to be a guiding light for my future.

Meet Carolyn Walsh - Generations United Summer Intern

It was at the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County, New Jersey where I learned the importance of intergenerational perspectives.

As a summer volunteer there in 2015, I worked with people facing hunger, unemployment, and housing instability. I helped them by registering clients for the food pantry and also guiding them through the process of picking groceries.

The individuals and families I worked with were a generational melting pot.

They reminded me of my intergenerational connections. I’m lucky to live within a few miles of my World-War-II-generation grandparents, my baby boomer parents, aunts and uncles, and my millennial siblings and cousins.

The ethnic, cultural and age diversity of the families at the Crisis Ministry showed me that many of the major issues affecting our society are intergenerational ones.

That experience sparked my interest in learning about intergenerational solutions to problems.

Now, I’m a summer intern at Generations United. I’m looking forward to working on a number of projects that include researching a Grandfamilies resource bibliography and writing up profiles for members of Generations United’s GrAND Network and Super Advocates.

I’m also excited that I get to attend various advocacy meetings and legislative briefings.

Originally from Princeton, New Jersey, I am a Political Science and Business major at Providence College in Rhode Island.

During my time in D.C., I hope to strengthen my writing and researching skills as well as expand my knowledge of public policy advocacy.

It’s an honor to join Generations United, an organization improving the lives of children, youth and older adults through intergenerational collaboration, public policies and programs for all ages.

Here’s to an exciting summer!

City of Coral Springs - National Finalist

Intergenerational Olympics

Located in Broward County, the City of Coral Springs is a planned community that offers inviting neighborhoods, a diverse business community, top-rated schools, and beautiful parks.

Applauded for its overall livability, low crime rate, and family-friendly focus, it’s no surprise that Coral Springs is making strides to enhance intergenerational connections for its 127,000+ residents.

Since launching its first intergenerational program in 2009, the City of Coral Springs has developed a number of opportunities for older and younger residents to contribute to the growth and well-being of the community and its residents.

One of the newest programs, for example, engages tech-savvy local high school students as technology instructors to participants at the local senior center.

Florence Killoran, a local elder, enjoyed the six week computer course the teens facilitated.

Intergenerational Computer Class

“The teens taught us how to use our cell phones, computers and so many other electronic items,” she recalled. “At the end of the year, we had an intergenerational barbecue. That was nice to sit and chat with the kids.”

The City of Coral Springs’ 49 parks offer events and projects that intentionally connect the generations, like the Intergenerational Beautification Project.

Now in its third year, the project pairs teams of youth with older adult leaders to work together on outdoor projects to improve the community.

In addition to improving the local landscape and developing a community garden, the project has also served as a collaborative clean-up day to remove litter from neighborhood streets and highways.

Afterwards, youth and older adults enjoy lunch together. The city also recognizes participants of all ages at an award ceremony.

In 2015, the City Commission voted to help fund an intergenerational lecture series in partnership with Nova Southeastern University. Older adults gather with grandchildren and local youth to learn about an array of cultural, social, and educational topics.

They also learn about community-offered research, conservation and training programs.

Intergenerational Chess

Chloe Gouge, a student at Taravella High School, participated in the “Adopt an Elder” program, a mentorship program coordinated by Coral Springs High School that pairs students with elders from the community.

“My own grandparents live far away or are deceased so this was a nice experience for me to connect with older adults,” she explained.

The City of Coral Springs excels at building partnerships across agencies and sectors to achieve its intergenerational focus.

In partnership with the Kiwanis Club, for example, the local police and fire departments coordinate Safety Town, a nationally recognized program for young children to learn valuable lessons about safety. Each summer, the interactive program engages older volunteers in teaching young children about the importance of personal and traffic safety.

The City of Coral Springs partners with Nova Southeastern University, whose professors teach classes at the senior center.
The community prides itself on its commitment to engage all ages.

Intergenerational Clean-Up Day

“The seniors,” according to local elder Florence Killoran, “have done so much with the youth in the community.”

This includes the Senior Crochet Club making blankets for Kids in Distress, a local nonprofit for children who were victims of abuse.

City Commissioner Joy Carter counts this and other intergenerational efforts towards the “good experience of living and working” there.

“I have always been impressed with the City’s approach to their residents’ satisfaction,” she explained. “We have a tremendous volunteer base and a high-minded staff that remains vigilant to find programs that are interactive and supportive toward our citizens.”

To learn more about the City of Coral Springs, visit www.CoralSprings.org.

Eastman: Service and Teamwork Across the Lifespan - Best Intergenerational Communities Award Winner

Eastman Community Association started out as a retirement and seasonal recreational community. Now, it's a full-blown intergenerational one with a wonderful blend of all ages.

This shift is due to the economic growth of the Dartmouth-Lake Sunapee Region of New Hampshire. With new jobs came young families who fell in love with the trails and wildlife.

Eastman Community Association describes itself as "a naturally occurring, intergenerational community."

The residents made this intentional shift in 2012, when they enlisted the input of all generations to help create Eastman’s comprehensive strategic plan.

At the top of the list of Eastman Community Association’s strategic priorities is offering programs that foster intergenerational interaction.

During the summer season, Eastman Community Association ran the Peppermint Patty’s snack bar. It provided snacks, lunches and ice cream to the residents and visitors.

The snack bar almost closed in 2012, when the older adult operators decided to retire. A subcommittee of the Recreation Committee developed a plan to save it.

With help from older adult mentors, high school students would run Peppermint Patty’s. The mentors are professionals advising in various roles of operating a restaurant business.

Rachel Berg, a University of New Hampshire student, worked there.

“This offered opportunities for high school students to gain real business experience," she explained.

That experience included the teens meeting weekly with their mentors. They discussed operations and voted one another into a role. Berg’s team voted her for Marketing and Sales.

Another Eastman strategic goal is to encourage all ages to share their talents.

When John Larrabee moved there, he didn’t have time to be “retired.”

The community recruited the former teacher to chair the Lakes and Streams Committee. There, he and other volunteers watched over the 335-acre Eastman Lake.

The Committee started the Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) to tap into volunteers in the community, many of whom were older adults who were interested in introducing local youth to lake ecology.

“Boy did we hit it out of the park,” Larrabee noted. “Parents got involved, volunteers of all ages paired with kids on projects dealing with rain gardens and storm water runoff.”

The youth learned to transplant hostas (a plant species that grows in shade). Those who became experts guided adults new to the experience.

2011 Fashion Show

After the program, YCC members wrote self-growth essays about their experience. The Eastman Living quarterly magazine published those essays. Additionally, YCC members presented their projects to participants at the annual Lake Appreciation Day.

Larrabee enjoyed connected with the youth.

“I have written five college letters of recommendations for YCC kids,” he recalled. “I have become part of the extended family in some cases.”

With a two-mile lake, six beaches, and countless miles of cross-country skiing and hiking trails, the community's shared love of protecting the environment helps bring generations together.

Several line items in the community's annual budget help protect that and other assets. The investments include foundation grants for elders to teach youth how to build boats.

The Community Living Group provided a full-time staff person to work with the community. The Group also budgeted over $90,000 to programs, including intergenerational activities and events.

Other investments helped the community open the 16,000-square-foot South Cove Activity Center in 2009. The building, which replaced an older facility, helps meet Eastman's intergenerational needs.

“There is so much that Eastman offers to every generation,” according to Rachel Berg, the University of New Hampshire student. “I know that when I am finally considered a part of the ‘wiser’ generation, I would be lucky to live somewhere like Eastman.”

Milwaukee: Building Bridges of Understanding that Span the Generations - Best Intergenerational Communities Award Winner

Mosess Intergenerational Dance Performance

Nestled on the coast of Lake Michigan, Milwaukee is a big city with a small town feel, thanks to its unique neighborhoods and engaged residents working to promote quality of life for all ages.

In the early 80's, a 3-year-old girl named Katie helped the community to think intergenerational.

St. Ann Center, which launched on the city’s south side in 1983, initially offered just community-based adult day care for older adult clients in the basement of the Convent of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi.

One day, when Katie’s single mom, a St. Ann Center employee, couldn’t find daycare for her daughter, she brought Katie to work.

During the visit, Katie saw a client lapsing into a grand mal seizure. The 3-year-old immediately ran to the shaking man, jumped on his lap and gave him a big hug. And, with Katie’s hug, the man’s symptoms stopped—the seizure never occurred.

St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care

That’s when St. Ann Center’s intergenerational model of care was born, becoming the first intergenerational shared site of its kind in the nation and setting a strong foundation for a community that embraces the value of all ages and abilities.

Consequently, Milwaukee is now home to a host of intergenerational programs, including two Generations United Programs of Distinction: St. Ann Center for Intergenerational Care and TimeSlips Creative Storytelling.

Through TimeSlips, a program of the Creative Trust Milwaukee, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) students are trained and partnered with community groups to facilitate storytelling with older adults, many with symptoms of memory loss.

The city’s other intergenerational initiatives include Aged to Perfection (an undergraduate class developed by UWM’s Center for Aging and Translational Research), The Arts at Home (an artist and student team that brings engagement to elders living alone) and Reach Out Reach In (teens develop daily activities for children and older adults).

The Intergenerational Council promotes intergenerational dialogues within and between the races and cultures. This year’s theme, “Turning Points,” encourages adults and youth to discuss key life decisions that affect the future of each individual and the community in which that resident lives.

Toddlers on a mission at Saint Johns on the
Lake Retirement Community

In 2015, The Milwaukee County Commission on Aging and partnering agencies hosted an intergenerational panel discussion and audience talkback in honor of Vel Phillips, the city’s first woman and African American official and judge and Wisconsin’s Secretary of State.

The ethnically and culturally mixed intergenerational panel discussed how the city’s past race relations affect Milwaukee residents today and how all ages can take lessons learned from the past to build a bright future together.

Additionally, Milwaukee, host city for the 2017 Global Intergenerational Conference, showed commitment to creating spaces that connect the generations.

Mayor Tom Barrett noted that “the City’s Villard Square Library project replaced an aging library with a new facility that includes housing for grandparents raising grandchildren.”

Reekaya Free Jenkins, an eighth- grader at Hope Christian School Prima, jumped at the opportunity to join the St. Ann Center Buddy Program, which connects youth (ages 11-15) with older adults suffering from severe developmental and physical disabilities.

“There were many older people I got to know,” she explained. “They were happy they had someone to share what life was like when they were growing up. I learned a lot from their stories. It was like a history lesson, only better. I had fun updating them on what’s happening with kids like me.”

L. Jane Shatto, who retired in 2012, was also inspired to work across the ages.

During her seven years of volunteering at City on a Hill, a nonprofit organization working with central city youth and families, she encountered too many youngsters who struggled with reading.

Interfaith RSVP Tutoring Program

Now, she works with second-graders in the Milwaukee Public Schools through InterFaith Older Adult Programs, which is funded by the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

“I have seen improvement when additional help, encouragement and support are given,” Shatto noted.

Her rewards include watching a child, who previously struggled, read confidently. “When a child tells me about their latest test scores,” she explained, “or that they are moving to a higher reading group, I feel blessed.”

That and other blessings won over the Posner Foundation, which helped fund intergenerational programming at the Jewish Home and Care Center, where Milwaukee schoolchildren practice reading skills by reading to seniors.

“Many organizations work in our neighborhoods to ensure that people of all ages are able to share their talents and resources with each other,” Mayor Barrett said. “A community flourishes when youth and older adults have an opportunity to share life experiences.”