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.”

Between the Lines - World Poetry Day

"Between the Lines" members

In honor of World Poetry Day, we feature the intergenerational poetry program, Between the Lines.

The program was started by Patti Russo, a certified poetry therapist from Carlisle, MA, a MetLife Foundation/Generations United 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities award winner. 

“Generations United opened my eyes to the field of intergenerational work and the many ways I can use poetry to bring generations together," said Russo, whose program works with Easter Seals, Pre-K and High Schools. 

She continued: 

In 2006, I was hired by Easter Seals to work on a grant they received from Generations United to explore how expressive therapies might bridge the intergenerational gap.

I had previously used poetry with the bookend generations individually, but it had never occurred to me to work with them at the same time.

About ten minutes into the first session I realized the power of this intergenerational work and instantly wanted to do more of it.

Patti (right) created a "Poetry Booth" at Old Home Day 2012
in Carlisle, MA to promote poetry in the community.

In addition to the benefits of poetry both generations experienced, the older adults profited from the kids' enthusiasm and energy and the children basked in the one-on-one attention they received from the adults.

After that initial intergenerational experience funded by Generations United, I started offering intergenerational poetry groups at local preschools and high schools in the Carlisle area.

It continues to be my most meaningful work as a poetry therapist.

The exquisite corpse poem, "Six-word Memoirs," that high school students did with older adults.

(See poems from Between the Lines preschool and older adult members.)

Six-word Memoirs

by

CCHS Intergenerational Poetry Group

Bold = written by high school sophomore


Sharing life experience
Living as one. (Tom D.)

Poetry, seniors, sophomores
So much fun (Lillian D.)

Old, Young
We’re all having fun. (Hung V.)

You are young then grow older (Katie A.)

2 sophomores, I senior; It all works! (Dee S.)


Seniors, Sophomore synchrony
so, so satisfying. (Gwen C.)


It’s through poetry
I find you. (Tom D.)

It’s better than normal English class. (Ben C.)


Punishment or play?
Escape with ancients! (Joan P.)


Groups aren’t so bad after all. (Joyce B.)


Time Never Stops
Until Clocks Break (Julien D.)


“100 Years,” No
“Turning Ten,” Yes (Gwen C.)


“I’m hungry. Anyone have a snack?” (Trevor H.)


Just begun—Now done—Never forgotten (Helen Y.)


I like to play sports daily! (Davante B.)


Stars, planets, galaxies
The whole universe. (Allison R.)


Getting to know, then let go. (Marje S.)


Time is wasting, make days count. (Marje S.)


Big game today; hope we win! (Allie C.)


Started off and now wanting more (Gabe A.)


I’m done practicing. Start the game. (Irwin G.)


I was glad to see Charlotte. (Bea S.)


Six word memoirs are very funny. (Charlotte C.)


Exchange of thoughts
A new awareness (Joan S.)

The twinkling star, then shining moon. (Juilia V.)

Congrats to our 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities!

(Click here to view enlarged image.) Author and journalist
Juan Williams offers welcoming remarks. 

Yesterday, we presented three communities with the 2015 MetLife Foundation/Generations United Best Intergenerational Communities Award.

These communities – including Carlisle, MA; Greater Richmond Region, VA; and Greater Plymouth Area, WI – promote policies, programs, practices and services that increase cooperation, interaction and exchange between people of different generations.

“They are among the most vibrant, livable communities you will find anywhere in the nation,” Donna Butts, executive director of Generations United, told a packed room at the Hall of States.

Today, 8.4 million Americans live in such communities. This year’s honorees, combined, have a total of 1.2 million residents, which contributes to the total number of people living in age-friendly communities.

Butts praised the honorees' persistence in becoming age-optimized.

“As the communities we are recognizing today know,” she said, “it takes time, investments, commitment and leadership to bring younger and older people together in a true partnership that engages and respects the strengths of each generation.”

(Click here to view enlarged image.) Thelma Collins, mayor of Itta Bena, MS
(a 2013 winner) sharing how the award impacted her community.

That time, investment and commitment paid off for our past winners like Itta Bena, MS (2013 winner).

“The award helped our community see we are moving in the right direction towards a healthier community for all ages,” said Thelma Collins, mayor of Itta Bena, MS. As a result of the award, she added, “We were recognized by the Obama administration and received one of 26 technical assistance grants to help us get a grocery store.”

Dennis White, CEO and president of MetLife Foundation, shared highlights from Maricopa County, AZ, and San Diego County, CA.

For Maricopa County, the award validated their work and helped raised morale among its residents.

San Diego County reported that the award got them the attention of their County Board of Supervisors who decided to start embracing intergenerational programming by voting to add four new intergenerational coordinators through their county.

MetLife Foundation's CEO and President Dennis White

“We know the award has impacted the communities we’ve honored,” White said. 

“We applaud today’s recipients of the Intergenerational Best Communities Award for unleashing the power of intergenerational connections that encourage people of all ages to thrive and work together to make their communities better places to grow up and grow old.”

The awards presentation took place on Capitol Hill and featured author and journalist Juan Williams and our Board member Jatrice Martel Gaither, executive vice president of External Affairs for Volunteers of America.

During her remarks, 11-year-old Margot, of Carlisle, shared a touching story about helping older adults in her community.

Drew Schweiger, 18, and his older adult buddy, Larry Bray, of Greater Plymouth Area, talked about the benefits of living in an age-friendly community.

Doris Hairston, of Greater Richmond Region, shares a story about helping
a challenged youth overcome various obstacles through problem-solving.

As a mentor in the Greater Richmond Region’s Foster Grandparent Program, Doris Hairston sees first-hand the benefits of generations mixing it up.

She recounted a story about helping a challenged youth overcame various obstacles through problem-solving.

Hairston is fulfilled knowing she helps children like Charles. 

“Together,” she said, “the other volunteers and the children we work with are making positive differences in each other’s’ lives.”

Congratulations, again, to our winners. You can see other highlights here.

If you’re interested in more info about intergenerational communities, click here and share our resources with your networks.

City of Surprise, Arizona - national finalist for the 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities Awards

Mayor Sharon Walcott (center) joins council members and 

the community for the Arts HQ ribbon cutting ceremony

in the Surprise Civic Center

Being an age-friendly community is a way of life in Surprise, Arizona. It’s nearly 124,000 residents have embraced a life-style in which all ages work together to grow a community for all ages.

A milestone was reached in 2008, when the City of Surprise and Benevilla, a human service non-profit organization, established the Community for All Ages (CFAA) partnership –which connected nonprofits, private businesses, academic institutions and city officials in a program to embrace the connections of the young and young-at-heart populations.

The CFAA provides intergenerational social interactions across all ages, ethnicities, economic status and/or disabilities by improving communication and community awareness.

“This partnership has connected toddlers with grandparents in healthy eating community gardening efforts and mind-stimulating games designed to support our elders with dementia, says Mayor Sharon Wolcott.

While the CFAA was solidified at the start of the recession, the City of Surprise and its partnering agencies were determined to implement programs and projects to support growing a connection between generations.

Surprise's Fiesta Grande event

The City worked with its partners to coordinate events and vendors to complement one another and maximize resources. 

The city’s General Plan includes goals that support the continuation of its annual Senior Safety Day, where young volunteers install smoke detectors, fire extinguishers and conduct safety audits in the homes of older adults.

Through a partnership with Benevilla and Rio Salado College’s Lifelong Learning program, the Community for All Ages partnership created an intergenerational campus in the city’s Historic Original Town Site in April 2009. 

The Original Town Site also hosted the 1st Annual Surprise Fiesta Grande event that attracted more than 20 vendors and 15,000-plus resident in celebration of the city’s Mexican heritage.

"Our 75 guests from Nogales, Sonora, provided traditional folkloric and mariachi entertainment that got all residents dancing, no matter the age," Mayor Wolcott recalls. 

2012 Surprise Neighborhood Award Program

In Surprise, they measure success in more ways than dollars and cents. For Surprise Grants Administrator Janeen Gaskin, the community’s sweat equity and volunteer spirit is what sets them apart from other communities.

Their sweat equity and volunteer spirit shines through their anti-graffiti project, which brought together volunteers from elementary schools and older adults to complete a 30-foot-wide mosaic tile mural in the community park.

Over the last three years, Vice Mayor John Williams added three new youth leadership opportunities that include the Youth Civic Leader Program, which gives high school students a chance to sit on the dais as a youth representative during City Council work sessions and meetings. 

Since then, the city has launched a 26-member Surprise Youth Council that will work hand-in-hand with the City Council to recommend youth programs that will support the Council’s vision to create a community where young people grow up, work and raise their own families in Surprise.

"When I first moved to Surprise, I was concerned that my opportunities as a young person in this community would be limited because Surprise has a large retirement population," recalls Yazmin Padilla, Surprise Youth Civic Leader and Youth Advisory Commission Chair. 

Surprise Youth Council Induction Ceremony

Through the Youth Civic Leader Program, Padilla traveled to Washington, D.C., where she met with her elected state officials and advocated for young people in legislative initiatives.

The experience opened her eyes to how future leaders, such as herself, could make an impact.

"Not only have I been given the opportunity to perform volunteer activities," says Padilla. "But, myself and fellow youth have found Surprise to be a place where we can truly make

 an impact in our community." 

Padilla was also part of a team that won an entrepreneurial scholarship from the city’s business incubator, the AZ TechCelerator, to create a locker rental business in a local charter school.

While the City of Surprise is honored to be recognized as the 2015 National Finalist for the Best Intergenerational Communities Award, they’re proud of the fact that the Maricopa Association of Governments and Benevilla were the 2014 winners for their intergenerational efforts in Surprise.

The City of Surprise, the Maricopa Association of Governments and Benevilla look forward to continuing to grow opportunities that bridge the age gap.

"We are honored with the finalist selection this year,” Gaskins says, “and will continue to find new ways to connect our residents of all age to grow a stimulating community, that supports the needs of all residents, no matter their age.”

“This national recognition reflects that our city is truly a community of all ages,” said Mayor Sharon Wolcott. “In growing One Surprise, we champion our residents coming together in support of civic engagement, education, volunteerism and community pride.”

Greater Richmond Region, Virginia - 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities Award-winner

After 12 years of living abroad, Sara Link and her husband moved back to Greater Richmond Region to be near her parents and childhood friends in 2010.

With the community’s commitment of connecting people across generations, Link is convinced her family made the right decision.

With over 40 local intergenerational programs, festivals, events and leisure activities bringing together its 1 million-plus residents of all ages, it’s obvious Greater Richmond Region thrives off meaningful connections between older adults and youth.

With all ages being an integral and valued part of the setting, they couldn’t wait to share their community pride by applying for the 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities Awards.

“I knew Richmond had a strong chance of winning,” said Sara Link, director of Greater Richmond Age Wave, a collaborative that includes philanthropists, local government, businesses, nonprofits and academia working together to maximize resources for all ages.

Link’s Age Wave manages CATCH Healthy Habits, a Generations United 2015 Program of Distinction re-designee that was first honored in 2012.

Through this evidence-based program – hosted by Senior Connections, The Capital Area Agency on Aging and Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology – older adult volunteers teach K-5 students the value of healthy eating and physical activity.

Programs like CATCH Healthy Habits stem from Greater Richmond Region’s intergenerational roots, which go back to 1984, when Westminster Canterbury Richmond became an intergenerational shared site after including a Child Development Center with its Continuing Care Retirement Community.

Today, Westminster Canterbury Richmond’s intergenerational programs bring together children and older adults for daily story time and annual events/performances.

A community jewel is the James River Park System, 600 protected acres of shoreline and river islands running through the community.

The River System functions as an outdoor classroom for all ages to learn and appreciate Greater Richmond Region’s history while enjoying mountain biking, fishing and kayaking.

Youth and older adults also engage through the YMCA of Greater Richmond’s Growing Younger program, an initiative of United Way of Greater Richmond & Petersburg (GRP) in partnership with Friendship Cafes.

“Elders in this program are actively engaged in physical exercise and projects with youth, as well as the arts,” said Lynn H. Pharr, United Way-GRP chief executive officer. 

In addition to funding from United Way-GRP, Greater Richmond Region’s intergenerational programs receive nearly $1 million in combined support from by county and city governments as well as public and private foundations.

As a mentor in the Richmond Area Foster 

Grandparent Program, Doris Hairston sees first-hand how those investments contribute to the community’s intergenerational success stories. 

She and nearly 70 other older adults serve as mentors, tutors and caregivers for Greater Richmond Region’s children and youth with special needs.

“Many of the children served throughout the history of our successful program,” Hairston explained, “are now contributing adults themselves.”

The Greater Richmond Region is still feeling the excitement from a Generations United announcement that they are a 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities Award-winner.

“We will continue celebrating with Chesterfield County and the City of Richmond as we present a flag and road sign to each locality to have on display,” said Sara Link, who shared the news with various media outlets and through social media.

Sadie Rubin, director of the intergenerational arts program PALETTE, hopes the award will attract new funding.

Sara Morris, coordinator of CATCH Healthy Habits and Greater Richmond Age Wave, is still ecstatic about the award.

“It will help break down barriers people may have about other generations,” she said. “It will foster [more] community collaboration and innovative thinking that is cross generational.”

Carlisle, Massachusetts: A Small Town for All Ages - 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities

Halloween Parade

It wasn't Carlisle’s cranberry bog, state park or its 1,000 acres of conservation land that attracted long-time resident Thomas Dunkers to the small suburb 35 years ago.

It was the Strawberry Festival in the court yard of the Unitarian Church. That day, watching residents of all generations laughing together as they waited on their strawberry shortcake ice creams, Dunkers said the sight was picturesque. 

“It reminded me of a Norman Rockwell painting,” the 81-year-old said. “I fell in love with Carlisle.”

That community spirit goes back to the first Old Home Day in 1912. Today, the annual event brings together its 5,400-plus neighbors for intergenerational road races, parade and awards ceremony for its young scholars, older conservationists and outstanding citizens.

Patti Russo, a Board member with the Carlisle Council on Aging, recalls the free pancake breakfast at the Congregational Church – the lines of children, teens, parents and grandparents waiting in the church parking lot as they take in the sweet aromas of pancakes. 

Strawberry Festival Workers

“Between the pancake breakfast and the awards ceremony,” Russo explained, “residents can deliver baked good for the pie and cake contest.” All cakes are given out as prizes at the legendary cake walk.

The memories are enough to make Carlotte Copp, a college student living in Portland, Oregon, homesick for Carlisle.

“Carlisle constantly has events where generations mix, and that is what makes it great,” she recalled. She misses “the connectedness of Carlisle and the at-home feeling.” 

The community’s connectedness is ensured by several organizations including the Council on Aging and the Intergenerational Task Force. 

The Council on Aging programs budget line item helps to support intergenerational activities. Other sources included Carlisle and State Cultural Council Grants, the Friends of the Carlisle Council on Aging, the Gleason Public Library and the Concord-Carlisle Community Chest.

Another factor that makes Carlisle an age-advantaged community is the fact that the town’s older adult housing facility is sandwiched between the elementary school and the Gleason Public Library. 

Old Home Day Festival

“We think of ourselves as somewhat of a throwback to an earlier, agrarian time,” explains Kerry Kissinger, a Board member with the Friends of Carlisle Council.

The “agrarian time” Kissinger conjures up is one of a town without stoplight and neighbors passing the time at the general store.

“The library is the community center and senior citizens are the crossing guards after school,” he recalled. “We love our little town and try very hard to keep it safe and inclusive while still welcoming new and diverse residents.”

While Carlisle has always had what they call “informal” intergenerational programs – Strawberry Festival or Old Home Day – such events don’t always promote direct engagement between older adults and young people.

“Once people in town experienced the beauty and power of such formal intergenerational interactions, they wanted more,” recalled Patti Russo, with the Carlisle Council on Aging. “That’s when we thought of creating new programs and modifying existing one to make them intergenerational.”

Over the past 10 years, Carlisle established more programs – such as the Community Chorus and Intergenerational Poetry Group – designed specifically to get generations together. 

Each year, Carlisle’s 6th graders serve pasta to nearly 

1,000 Carlisle residents ranging in age from 2 to 102.

Even still, when Carlisle heard about the Best Communities Awards in 2013, they considered applying, but decided they needed more time.

“The extra year gave us time to assemble an intergenerational task force and thoroughly research what was happening on the intergenerational front in Carlisle,” explained Russo, a member of the Carlisle Intergenerational Task Force. 

“We have a significant number of successful intergenerational programs already, but I believe there is room for more.”

On the morning of Dec. 20, she was on her way out the door when she got the news that Carlisle is a 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities Award-winner. 

Russo shared the news with her family, the intergenerational task force and other town officials. The Jan. 9 issue of the Carlisle Mosquito ran a front-page story on the award.

“I was thrilled,” Russo recalled, “the extra adrenaline…made it difficult to sleep for a couple of nights!”

Intergenerational Preschool Poetry program

She hopes the 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities Award will get town partners fired up about intergenerational work and build off that momentum for more programs.

Organizations like the Savoyard Light Opera Company and the Carlisle Community Chorus put 17-year-old Reilly in touch with older adults.

“Each week,” she explained, “I would look forward to the conversations I would have with my fellow choir members and what I would learn from them, both in life and in singing.”

Those interactions make Thomas Dunkers, the 81-year-old resident, happy he made Carlisle his home 35 years ago.

“I have strong feelings about the importance of having an intergenerational community,” he said. “Having intergenerational activities generates understanding and enriches everyone.”

Greater Plymouth Area, Wisconsin: Collaborating for a Common Purpose - 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities

Collaboration is the lifeblood of Greater Plymouth Area, Wisconsin. Every success story there is about a community pulling together to help all ages.

In 1985, they developed their first intergenerational program after Here We Grow Child Care Center mixed their activities with the Plymouth Senior Center, South Horizons Apartments and Valley Manor Nursing Home.

Today, the intergenerational activities are at Generations, a 28,000-square-foot facility on a seven-acre campus.

Middle school students, bused there after classes, play board games, Wii, pool and ping pong with the older adults.

Longtime resident, Doreen Salkowski, remembered teaching three teens how to play Canasta, a card game from Uruguay.

“Boy, they struggled, but they felt accomplished when they were finished!” Salkowski explained. “They still tell me how they enjoyed learning to play.”

The Plymouth Intergenerational Coalition’s Programming Committee, which meets monthly, suggests programs, monitors levels of intergenerational activities and shares information to build community awareness.

Donald Krauss – a longtime resident moved by the community's work for all ages – left the Plymouth Intergenerational Coalition, the library and the Plymouth Senior Center nearly $600,000 in his will. 

“He really believed in Greater Plymouth Area’s intergenerational concept,” explained Marsha Vollbrecht, Generations founder. 

Donna Counselman, a retired educator, saw first-hand an intergenerational activity transform an older adult, who once held negative stereotypes of teens.

“Sometimes the news makes me think that all teenagers are bad people,” the woman told Counselman. After watching 13-year-olds in the Head Start Pals group read to 3-year-olds, she said: “I certainly can see this is not the case in our community!”

Another activity all ages enjoy is the New Year’s Eve “Cheese Drop”.

“There is free coffee and hot chocolate for revelers who brave the cold and come downtown,” Vollbrecht recalled. 

Greater Plymouth Area knew they qualified for the 2015 Best Intergenerational Community Awards. 

“We are not shy about sharing successes,” noted Joann Van Horn Wieland, executive director of Generations.

A huge success is Generations, a $4.2 million project funded by a public/private campaign that brought all ages together through through bake sales, collecting aluminum cans, and a community party with raffles and a silent auction. 

Funds were raised from large companies and donors, along with a few dollars donated by every day citizens.

Additionally, $1.1 million came from a stimulus grant and $15,000 came from the State of Wisconsin Department of Commerce, which was established to help with a community needs assessment.

The local restaurants got involved, hosting “Guest Bartender” nights, where residents worked the bars. In exchange, the restaurants offered matching funds. 

When Generations paid off its mortgage two years after it opened, all ages celebrated with a mortgage-burning party.

“We are very proud of what we have worked on for so many years,” explained Wieland, who also noted the Endowment Fund the community established for its intergenerational programs.

Greater Plymouth Area is still in high spirits since the news of being a 2015 Best Intergenerational Communities Award winner.

“I was so thrilled,” Wieland recalled, “that I was hugging people, sharing the news with seniors in our exercise classes.”

When she shared the news at the Board meeting, Vollbrecht, Generations founder, jumped out of her seat and cheered.

Greater Plymouth Area hopes the award will bring more financial resources from existing and new partners.

Social Media Campaign for Best Intergenerational Communities Awards

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Help Us Spread the Word!

Jump to: Sample Facebook Posts | Sample Tweets | Sample Newsletter Item | Logos

It’s that time again! We need your help to spread the word about the MetLife Foundation/Generations United Best Intergenerational Communities Awards.

We’ve made it easy by offering text for sample Facebook mentions, tweets, and newsletter articles. We’ve also included logos you can use if you wish.

As always, we appreciate your help!

Add It to Facebook!

Sample Facebook posts for Best Intergenerational Communities Awards:

·       Think your community is a great place for all generations? Apply for a 2016 Best Intergenerational Communities Award sponsored by MetLife Foundation and Generations United. Application deadline is Jan. 15, 2016. Learn more at http://www.gu.org/OURWORK/Programs/BestIntergenerationalCommunities.aspx

·       Proud of your community? Does it offer a well-rounded life for all generations? Then apply today for a 2016 Best Intergenerational Communities Award sponsored by MetLife Foundation and Generations United. Application deadline is Jan. 15, 2016. Learn more at http://www.gu.org/OURWORK/Programs/BestIntergenerationalCommunities.aspx

·       There’s no place like home—especially if you live in a community that offers opportunities for every generation. Sound like your community? Then apply today for a MetLife/Generations United Best Intergenerational Communities Award.  Application deadline is Jan. 15, 2016. Learn more at http://www.gu.org/OURWORK/Programs/BestIntergenerationalCommunities.aspx

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Tweet It!

Sample tweets for Best Intergenerational Communities Awards:

·       Best Intergenerational Communities. Is yours one? Enter MetLife Foundation/@GensUnited Awards Program. http://bit.ly/QI8TaN

·       Is your community great for all generations? Enter MetLife Foundation/@GensUnited Awards Program. http://bit.ly/QI8TaN

·       Tell us why your community outshines the rest. Enter MetLife Foundation/@Gens United Awards Program. http://bit.ly/QI8TaN

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Newsletters

Sample Newsletter article for Best Intergenerational Communities Awards:

MetLife Foundation and Generations United are searching the nation for communities that place immense value on intergenerational connections and quality of life for all. If your community fits that description, they invite you to apply for the fourth annual Best Intergenerational Communities Awards program. Deadline to apply: Jan. 15, 2016. Learn more at http://www2.gu.org/OURWORK/Programs/BestIntergenerationalCommunities.aspx

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Logos

Generations United logo:

                                              

Logo for MetLife Foundation/ Generations United Best Intergenerational Communities Awards Program:

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My Adventure to Capitol Hill

(l-r: Asa Gurney, Bob Simon,
and Ashley Gurney)

EDITOR’S NOTE: This guest post appears courtesy of 8-year-old Ashley Gurney, who joined us Tuesday for the Best Intergenerational Communities recognition event at Cannon House Building. The photo is courtesy of the Gurney Family.

I woke up at 6:30 a.m. We got in the car it was a long ride to the city. We are at National Association of Counties (NACO).

There are 22 people and Bob Simon was there. And there are actually 25 people because a few came in late. I met a girl named Hayley and she was 17 years old. Hayley and my brother were in my group. We learned a lot about each other. We are going to get a cab and go to Capitol Hill.

We arrived at Capitol Hill. We went through security and the woman in front of us had to go back and it was her bracelet.

There are 3 people taking pictures including me. Eight people went to speak.

I learned a lot and it makes me feel like I like our country even more because they got an award.

Hayley and Jessica spoke and they were kind of funny. Bob Simon was about to go up to speak.

On our way to lunch, we went under the building I thought it was the sewers but it was a hallway and I kind of screamed when I said it.

We saw the Old Senate Chamber and Senator Charles Sumner almost died.  He did not want slavery and other Senators got their canes out and beat him up really badly in 1856 because they wanted slavery.

We saw the members of the House of Representatives vote on a bill. And more people voted “nay” which means no and less people voted “yea” which means yes. So the bill did not pass.

We did not know if it was snowing because we did not look out the window.

And it was an awesome day!

Congratulations to Our Winning Communities!

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (center) posing with Maricopa
County residents

Today, we presented four communities with the 2014 MetLife Foundation/Generations United Best Intergenerational Communities Award.

We're grateful to our MCs author and journalist Juan Williams and our Board member Jatrice Martel Gaiter for an inspiring and humor-filled event.

This annual award heightens awareness of the important role that intergenerational solidarity plays in building strong, vibrant communities.

The event also included members of Congress speaking on behalf of their communities.

Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL) gave a shout-out to Parkland, FL, for being an intergenerational champion. “This growing city,” he said, “will continue to thrive and succeed.”

The hardworking residents of Shorewood, WI, got some love from their representative, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D). Of Shorewooed, Moore said: “It’s without a doubt one of the four communities in our nation that demonstrates…bringing the best of youth and elderhood together.”

Robert Simon, a developer and founder of Reston, VA, recounted a story that garnered laughs from the packed room. According to him, some kids were playing by a statue the city erected in his honor.

Hayley Tsuchiyama, of Shorewood, WI, greets Reston's
founder Robert Simon after her speech

One of the boys, looking from Simon to the statue, asked the developer, “How did you get out?”

(Videos: Reston Wins Best Intergenerational Community Award and Fox News Juan Williams recognizes Bob Simons 100th Birthday)

Simon's Reston and the other award recipients are redefining community life by throwing out old stereotypes and engaging residents of every age in decision-making, problem-solving and relationship-building.

Simon, who was 50 when he founded Reston in 1965, remembered the city developing from humble beginnings to where it is now. The visionary couldn't imagine his community any other way.

“If I didn’t have intergenerational relationships, I’d be  lonely,” said Simon, who turns 100 next month.  

Jessica Ayala’s remarks were just as touching. The Maya High School student, of Maricopa County, AZ, talked about overcoming her shyness and learning how to lead.

“I thought being a leader was being bossy and pushy,” Ayala said. “I learned that leadership is speaking up for others.”

Jessica Ayala, a student at Maya High School in Maricopa
County, sharing what she learned about being a leader

Her most important lesson was introspective.

“I learned,”  Ayala said, “my true self was better than I thought.”

Congratulations, again, to our winners. You can see other highlights here.

If you’re interested in more info about intergenerational communities, click here and share our resources with your networks.

Introducing...Village of Shorewood, WI!

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the final part of our series on the 2014 Best Intergenerational Communities award winners. Read parts 1, 2 and 3.

Last, but not least, is the Village of Shorewood, Wisconsin.

In 1999, Milwaukee County Department on Aging formed the Intergenerational Council to nurture the development of intergenerational programming. Those efforts build off of the age-optimized activities going back to when Shorewood was incorporated as a Village in 1900.

Today, the Shorewood Connects Intergenerational Work Group is the "intergenerational glue" that unites Village Government, the School District, the Business Improvement District, youth and seniors.

Both Martin Lexmond, superintendent of Shorewood School District, and Shorewood's President Guy Johnson noted that the community's size can be deceptive. "Shorewood may be small," they explained, "but its wide variety of activities aimed at fostering intergenerational community connections are large, making it a wonderful place to grow up, raise a family, and retire."