Arizona Education Association - Retired's IMPACT Intergenerational Mentoring Program

(PHOTO: John Miller) Elizabeth Gonzales (right) say mentor
Juan Zúñiga guided her, but still let her find her own way.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, we feature intergenerational program ideas that were tried and successful. This series is a tool to highlight various age-optimized programs and practices. The program descriptions are provided by representatives of the programs. Inclusion in this series does not imply Generations United’s endorsement or recommendation, but rather encourages ideas to inspire other programs.

This week’s cool idea is the Arizona Education Association- Retired’s IMPACT Intergenerational Mentoring Program, an intergenerational partnership that allows retired educators to mentor young teachers.

(Check our archives for parts 1-40.)

The intergenerational mentoring program is a collaborative project between the Arizona Education Association-Retired (AEA-Retired), and AEA-Student Program (AEA-SP) with the full support and cooperation of the National Education Association, the Arizona Education Association, Arizona State University, and the University of Arizona.

Their mission is to establish and maintain an ongoing mentorship program between the AEA-Retired and the AEA-SP that will continue through the student-teaching experience and first five years of teaching.

As a result, the program has utilized the knowledge and experience of retired teachers in the development and training of future teachers by providing no-cost professional development sessions.

Beginning teachers are also able to share real challenges they face and their mentors help address those challenges.

Got something cool you tried that was successful? Why not tweet your cool intergenerational ideas to #cooligideas? You can also post them to our Intergenerational Connections Facebook Group. We want to highlight innovative age-optimized programs and practices through our blog, social media and weekly e-newsletter! Share the inspiration.

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.”

A Look Back at Past Best Intergenerational Communities Award Winners

Communities across America are developing innovative practices, programs and policies to solve challenges that benefit people of all ages.

Next month, we’ll honor the 2014 Best Intergenerational Community award winners: The Greater Phoenix Region, Arizona; City of Parkland, Florida; Reston, Virginia and Village of Shorewood, Wisconsin.

These age-optimized communities bring together people of all generations to improve neighborhoods, towns, cities, and counties.    

Intergenerational communities thrive because they build strong, supportive communities with fresh solutions to challenges that help people of all ages. They advance policies and practices that both acknowledge and promote intergenerational interdependence.

  

That’s why, starting today and through the weeks leading up to our March 25 event, we’re highlighting our past winners’ stories in three-part series that shows why age-intentional strategies are important.

First up, are our inaugural winners in 2012: Georgetown, Texas; Lamoni, Iowa and Oberlin, Ohio.

In Georgetown, TX, home to approximately 47,000 residents, no one entity plans or oversees the city’s array of intergenerational activities or initiatives. Instead, the city government, schools, businesses, and religious and nonprofit organizations all work collaboratively to identify opportunities and strengthen existing efforts.

The city government helps sustain intergenerational efforts in a number of ways. Using an Asset Based Community Development approach, it works to build the often underused “community assets” (talents) of seniors and youth.

The city is also a major contributor to the Georgetown Project, which funds social service and youth development organizations that help sustain intergenerational connections. Other city projects include helping to revitalize the historic town square so it now serves as an intergenerational gathering place; overseeing a new public library that includes space to foster intergenerational interactions; and building a new recreation center that includes a teen/senior center.

Things are just as busy in Lamoni, Iowa, where problem solving brings the generations together.

With a population of just under 2,500 residents, Lamoni has numerous strong intergenerational practices benefiting all ages. Graceland University students volunteer with school children, senior adults and local community organizations. High school students teach computer skills to adults. 

The weekly Lunch Buddies mentoring program brings mentors ranging from Graceland students to city employees, to Optimist Club members, to retired citizens to the local elementary school.

Additional intergenerational programs include a Service Learning Club that provides a wide array of services for older adults and Across Ages mentoring that pairs middle school youth with adults aged 55 and over.

That spirit of collaboration and community service are a big part of life in Oberlin, a city that’s built strong alliances with community organizations that ensure that Oberlin is an intergenerational community. 

The local government, Oberlin College, Oberlin City Schools, Kendal at Oberlin (a retirement community), Oberlin Community Services, Oberlin Heritage Center, Mercy Allen Hospital, and many other local organizations work closely together to develop programs that support and encourage interaction among different generations. 

Students from Oberlin College’s Bonner Center for Service and Learning work with the many community organizations to address concerns and challenges, using many intergenerational techniques to achieve the goals.  Read the full community profiles here.

Stay tuned for next week, when we introduce San Diego County, California; Virginia Planning District 10 (2012 winners) and Dunedin, Florida (a 2013 winner).