Opening Minds through Art

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, Opening Minds through Art (OMA), is a Generations United Programs of Distinction. OMA is a Scripps intergenerational art program for people with dementia.

(Check our archives for parts 1-79 | non-archived: 1 and 2)

Dr. Elizabeth Lokon founded OMA in 2007 at the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Ohio.

The belief is that people with dementia can express themselves through art. With that, OMA builds bridges across age and cognitive barriers.

The program promotes social engagement, autonomy and dignity of people with dementia . It accomplishes this by pairing people with dementia with trained volunteers.

The art-making sessions include a gallery exhibition to celebrate the artists' accomplishments. It also shows the public the creative capacities of people with dementia.

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.

ART CART

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 ART CART, a replicable, interdisciplinary, intergenerational, educational experience that connects aging professional artists with teams of graduate and upper-level undergraduate students to undertake the preparation and preservation of their creative work, and to help shape the future of our American cultural legacy.

(Check our archives for parts 1-77 | non-archived: 1 and 2)

Over the course of an academic year, several teams of students, each working with a single visual artist, will document a substantial number of works – collecting both high-quality digital images as well as relevant historical, biographical, and artistic background information.

Piloted at Columbia University in 2010, with six professional visual artists and twelve graduate students in art education, art history, arts administration, occupational therapy, public health, and social work, ART CART was repeated in the New York City and Washington, DC metro areas in 2012–2013 with 10 professional artists age 63–100 and 20 fellows in each location in a partnership with seven universities, a major museum, and a senior services center.

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.

The Intergenerational African-American Quilting Workshop at the Brooklyn Public Library

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 Brooklyn Public Library's intergenerational African American quilting workshop, which honors the historical significance of quilting in the days before the Civil War.

(Check our archives.)

The African American quilting tradition dates back to the U.S. antebellum period, but has deeper roots in the West African textile arts.

Youths are taught about this history while learning a useful skill from older adult volunteers.

Some quilts were created out of necessity, while others were encoded with secret messages and symbols–African Adinkra symbols popular amongst the Akan of Ghana, West Africa–to aide enslaved Africans in their escape from chattel slavery.

During a time period when it was illegal for African Americans to read and write, other quilts were created to record family history and use as tools during storytelling.

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.

Germantown Friends School Mentoring Program

PHOTO: Home Room

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 ideas is Germantown Friends School Mentoring Program, a middle school mentoring program based in Philadelphia run by Center in the Park (CIP), an aging support nonprofit.

(Check our archives for parts 1-72.)

Sharing is the keynote of this mentoring program with 6th grade students.

Over an eight-month time period, students and members of CIP meet monthly and become partners through the exchange of personal experiences, social history, family folklore, origins, goals, and ambitions.

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.

LIFE - Living (well through) Intergenerational Fitness and Exercise

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 ideas is LIFE - Living (well through) Intergenerational Fitness & Exercise - in Iowa, a program led by younger adults that increases access for at-risk older rural populations to sustainable, low cost, physical activity programming.

(Check our archives for parts 1-70.)

The LIFE Program is a twenty-four week physical activity program that uses low-impact, moderate activities guided by the exergaming tool, Kinect®, and is intended for physically inactive older adults.

The theory-based LIFE program aims to connect the generations, improving aging perceptions in young adult trainers while providing socialization for the older adult participants.

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.

Carlisle, MA Intergenerational Road Races

This guest post appears courtesy of Patti Russo of Carlisle, Massachusetts. All photos courtesy of The Carlisle Mosquito.

Walk or Run! Just Have Fun!

On a cold and rainy Veterans Day in Carlisle, MA, over 160 runners and walkers toed the starting line for the town’s first intergenerational road races. Participants ranged in age from 4-91.

This event “for all ages” is one of many intergenerational events sponsored by the Carlisle Council on Aging (COA).

With all ages in mind, the race committee chose to make the race a “run/walk” instead of only a run to make it accessible to older adults. Both races included winning age group categories of 80-89 and 90+ in order to recognize older participants.

Several grandparents participated with their grandchildren.

Charlie Rubel, 6, with his grandfather
Kevin Smith. (Photo by Ellen Huber)

Among them was Kevin Smith who ran the one-mile race with 6-year-old grandson, Charlie. Charlie earned a medal for the 10 and under age group. Kevin, who won in the 60-69 age group, said that he and Charlie had a wonderful time together and hoped to run again next year. 

The Reid/Plante family also had a multigenerational showing. 

Kate and Mark Reid ran the one-mile race with their 6-year-old grandson, Roland Plante, while Alison and Doug Plante, Roland’s parents, ran the 5K.

There was a lot of positive energy and a great intergenerational vibe throughout the morning. 

It was cool to see all ages pin on a bib and bond over this shared experience of running a race together. Seventy doesn’t seem all that different from 17 when everyone’s out there finishing a race in the rain.

I know I speak for the entire race committee when I say how pleased we are with the way the day unfolded. 

In one morning, we honored veterans and shattered (or at least cracked) a few stereotypes about what it means to be an older adult, we supported nationwide public health initiatives to sit less and move more, and we provided an opportunity for the community to gather and connect. 

Click here to view enlarged image. (Left Photo by Beth Clarke) Gertrud Behn, left, and Jean Sain
finish the race with Sain first in her age category (80-89) and Behn one second behind in the same age
group. (Center Photo by Ellen Huber) Tahleen Shamlian, left, (20-29) and Patti Russo (50-59) both
won their respective age groups in the 5K race. (Right Photo by Beth Clarke) Angela Smith and
Santo Pullara cross the one-mile finish line. Pullara, 91, was the oldest finisher.

Everyone’s asking for more, so it looks like the Carlisle Intergenerational Road Races will be an annual event.

Read the Carlisle Mosquito's story on the Carlisle Intergenerational Road races.

Patti Russo, race committee member, is a Certified Poetry Therapist and a strong advocate of intergenerational programs and policies. She lives and runs in Carlisle, MA.

Grand School

Aaron with Grandma Grace in Ireland, outside of Kylemore Abbey
in the city of  Galway

EDITOR'S NOTE: Generations United shared an Oct. 24 Washington Post article through Facebook on millennials being caregivers to their elders. According to the article, one in four family caregivers is now 18-34. After reading this article, Aaron Larsen was moved to recount the value of his grandparents. Here's his story. 

This guest post and photos appear courtesy of Aaron Larsen, a digital marketing consultant and creator of GrandparentsAcademy.com.

In 2008, I graduated magna cum jobless and lived with my 80-year-old Grandma Grace.

At first, I felt like a complete and utter failure. I felt like I did everything right - got the grades, excelled in extra curriculars, etc. 

I did everything my wonderful teachers, counselors and society told me to do in order to get that great job out of college, but it simply wasn't in the cards. 

Because of that, I was in a bit of a dark place after graduating. I was lost. 

(PHOTO: Bill Wilhelm) Aaron with Grandma Grace, during her surprise
birthday celebration at a pub in Dublin, Ireland. 

Living with Grandma Grace at that time in my life was the blessing I needed. I taught her Facebook and she taught me the true value of family and faith. 

The next year, I decided to live with my Granny and Grandpa Grit. 

Grandpa Grit had suffered from a debilitating stroke that compromised his speech and mobility of half his body. 

Granny Grit was caring for him on her 4.5 acres of hillside country property (which included horses, dogs and a barn kitty), and was holding down a part-time job. 

Being there for Grandpa during his last year of his life was one of the toughest yet rewarding experiences. 

I learned a lot about what true grit and courage is. Most of all, I realized our time here is limited.

We must use it wisely. We must learn how to grow ourselves and others with love. 

Living with my grandparents in my 20's wasn't something I envisioned happening. It certainly wasn't mentioned in my high school valedictorian speech. 

But I believe I learned more from the "Grand School" years than I would have ever learned in Grad School. 

And even though it was unexpected and uncomfortable at times, the harvest was nothing short of divine. 

If younger generations have anything close to the experience I had, while living with and caring for grandparents, I have no doubt our society will be better for it. 

So please, next time you hear a critical word about the younger generation, please consider that maybe we aren't failing to launch by returning home to our parents or grandparents. 

Instead, we're returning to the garden to nurture the seeds that will grow the values in which our society appears to be in an ever shorter supply - faith, family, Grit and Grace.

Elders Share the Arts (ESTA)

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 ideas is Elders Share the Arts (ESTA) in New York, which offers high-caliber arts programming that ignites creative expression in young and old. 

(Check our archives for parts 1-65.)

ESTA cultivates elders' role as bearers of history and culture, while generating new pathways to connect them to their communities.

The residencies are a springboard for developing and researching replicable programs, and through our training we provide opportunities for organizations to help serve this growing population.

ESTA works to bridge communication and build relationships between young and old through innovative arts programs that offer students a positive perspective of the elderly.

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.

The South Brunswick Senior Center

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 Senior Center in South Brunswick, NJ, which partners with the local school district to conduct a number of intergenerational programs.

(Check our archives for parts 1-48.)

A highlight of the South Brunswick Senior Center’s partnership with the local school district is the Living Legacies project, an annual event that sees high schoolers and older adults collaborating for an original theatre performance.

Each year, the theme is different. Some past themes include veteran stories, immigration, and local history. The school gathers students and the senior center and their volunteer partner organizations to identify older adults within the township to participate.

They use the theme as the starting point for conversations and begin to meet regularly. Wonderful conversations are held, new things are learned, perspectives are shared, and a bond begins to form.

Older adults are interviewed by the high school students during their English classes.

The students then translate what they learned from all these interviews into monologues, turning them into a theatre performance piece presented at the senior center.

A reception follows, so seniors can then mingle with the students and discuss the show, which continues to foster the learning experience.

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.

Rainbow Intergenerational Child Day Care Program

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 Rainbow Intergenerational Child Day Care Program in Florida, an intergenerational child care program in which older adults from the Rafael Villaverde Adult Day Health Care Center are trained to obtain certification as child care workers.

(Check our archives for parts 1-44.)

At the Rainbow Intergenerational Child Day Care Program, children are cared for in a culturally appropriate center by a “family member.” The service is offered to working poor families.

By providing them with access to safe, quality day care services, children of low-income families are prepared to compete on an equal basis with other children of better economic means.

They also benefit from intergenerational exposure as they participate in shows or visit the Adult Day Care Center to play and carry out joint activities with Alzheimer’s patients.

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.