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.”

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.

Janet Sainer - Women's History Month

The world lost an intergenerational pioneer and hero with the death of Janet Sainer in 2007.

Janet, as she was known to everyone, started her more than 50 years of work in the intergenerational field in 1958, working for two synagogues in New York City after graduating with an MSW from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland.

Next, Janet joined Community Service Society of New York, where she launched SERVE (Serve and Enrich Retirement by Volunteer Experience), which functioned as the foundation for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP).

Now administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, RSVP can be found in over 700 sites nationwide.

In 1978, Mayor Ed Koch named Janet the Commissioner of the New York City Department for the Aging, a position she held for 12 years.

As commissioner, Janet started and expanded senior service programs, including the New York City Alzheimer’s Resource Center, the city Meals-On-Wheels program, the city’s Stay-Well health promotion program, new minority services, and several intergenerational programs.

After stepping down as commissioner, Janet served as a special consultant for the Brookdale Foundation Group, a position she held until her death.

At Brookdale, she showed her creative genius once again by developing the Relatives As Parents Program (RAPP) that, today, serves grandparents and other relatives raising children.

Her staunch advocacy on behalf of grandfamilies led the 1995 White House Conference on Aging to recommend adopting a policy supporting grandfamilies.

Janet had another major victory with the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP).

She encouraged Generations United to advocate for the inclusion of grandparent caregivers. When Congress reauthorized the Older Americans Act in 2000, it included the NFCSP and authorized states to spend up to 10 percent of the funds on grandfamilies.

In 2003, Generations United presented Janet with The Jack Ossofsky Award for Lifetime Achievement in Support of Children, Youth and Older Adults in 1997.

San Pasqual Academy

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 San Pasqual Academy, a first-in-the-nation residential education campus designed specifically for foster teens.

(Check our archives for parts 1-78 | non-archived: 1 and 2)

The Academy provides foster teens with a stable, caring home, a quality, individualized education, and the skills needed for independent living.

The San Pasqual Academy Neighbors (SPAN) intergenerational mentoring program brings foster youth and foster grandparents together in this warm and supportive community.

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.

All Together Now

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 All Together Now through Story Center, which invites older adults and youth across the US to honor the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement and narrow the generation gap through story.

(Check our archives for parts 1-74.)

Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington and the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement of the fifties and sixties, All Together Now seeks to remind younger generations that “rights must always be renewed and reaffirmed” and that social justice is an ongoing effort for communities facing ongoing discrimination and marginalization.

Through free day-long Storied Sessions, All Together Now staff assists elders and youth in sharing stories about taking action in their communities and the impact of the Civil Rights Movement in their lives.

Using the Story Circle process, each participant is supported in creating a story, written and recorded in his or her own voice, with an accompanying photo.

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.

ReServe's READY 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 ideas is ReServe's READY program in New York, which helps low-income students apply to college by training and deploying professionals age 55 and up as college mentors.

(Check our archives for parts 1-73.)

The ReServe and AmeriCorps partnership has created more than 100 AmeriCorps ReServist direct-service opportunities in New York City and Miami, Florida.

Experienced and motivated older adults, age 55-plus, can contribute their life and professional skills by committing to long-term, direct-service AmeriCorps assignments.

AmeriCorps ReServists create, improve and expand services that address diverse issues such as youth development, education, adult literacy, individual professional and economic development, and adults who are homebound and isolated.

AmeriCorp READY ReServists help over-burdened college counselors in approximately 70 high-need urban high schools.

They meet with students and their families to familiarize them with their college options, complete financial aid and college applications, and help them evaluate their financial aid packages.

College mentors reach over 2500 students in over 50 schools.

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.

More Than a House: A Community for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

This story first appeared in our State of Grandfamilies in America: 2015 report.

In the Bronx borough of New York City, an apartment building rises above the streets, safely housing grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, giving all of them – young and old – a supportive community where they can nurture a positive family future.

The Grandparent Family Apartments building – a joint venture of PSS and the West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing – has pioneered a successful model that draws attention from around the world.

“Primarily, these are situations where the grandparents have really stepped up and taken on an enormous responsibility,” said PSS Executive Director Rimas J. Jasin. “They don’t have the income or, often, the physical resources. But, family is important to them, and they’ve made the commitment to do what they can.”

The 50-unit building opened in 2005, after years of planning and intermediary measures to help the suddenly increasing number of lower-income grandparents who took custody of their grandchildren during the crack cocaine and AIDS epidemic of the 1990s. Whether in senior-only housing or in homes that became too small overnight, these grandparents needed to move.

Jasin said everyone involved understood that the adults and the children needed shelter and much more.

“That’s why we built more than an apartment. We made sure, through the PSS Kinship Program, that there is a supportive environment with social services, skill building workshops, programming for the kids, counseling, intergenerational activities, etc.”

“That’s the one big difference between our building and other similar buildings: It’s a real community, and we have staff on site who foster that value,” Jasin said. Our families know they’re part of something special, and they’re proud of that.

Plus, we’ve grown together over the last 10 years, learning from each other, so there is that dynamic of community and an expectation for people to be supporting members of that community.”

About 60 grandparents and 100 grandchildren live in the Grandparent Family Apartments. One measure of success is that last year, more than 90 percent of the children progressed to their next grade in school.

Jasin noted, “Putting into words why this place is great is hard. We’re able to help them navigate systems and situations, the grandparents support one another and, in the end, these kids have a much better chance than they would have on their own.”

Generations United’s 2016 State Of The Union Statement

Last night President Obama’s message was clear: “We the People…Our Constitution begins with those three simple words,” he explained, “words we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together.” 

Generations United agrees. This inclusive preamble speaks to how the lives of Americans - young, old and in between- are inextricably linked. And together, he explained we face “a time of extraordinary change that’s reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet and our place in the world.”  At the heart of the change are our dual changing demographics.  In our signature report Out of Many One: Uniting the Changing Faces of America, Generations United explains- “Americans are living longer and healthier lives. We are more racially and ethnically diverse.  There is a growing generation gap. Today more than half of Americans under the age of five are people of color compared to less than one in five Americans over 65.” 

The president said that as a nation we should come together to embrace the change, rather than face it with fear.  At Generations United we see an incredible opportunity to use innovative approaches to stimulate cooperation and collaboration among generations, evoking the vibrancy, energy and sheer productivity that result when people of all ages come together. We believe that we can only be successful in the face of our complex future if generational diversity is regarded as a national asset and fully leveraged.

The president noted “Progress is not inevitable. It is the result of choices we make together. And we face such choices right now. Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people? Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?”  Because we are stronger together.

Three areas the president touched on stand out as opportunities for intergenerational solutions: Employment and Economic Security, Education, and Civic Engagement.

Employment and Economic Security:

The president highlighted how economic trends have squeezed workers even when the economy is growing. It’s made it harder for hardworking families to pull themselves out of poverty, harder for young people to start on their careers and tougher for workers to retire when they want to. Generations United’s highlighted key recommendations to address employment challenges and opportunities facing our nation’s younger and older people in Out of Many, One.

President Obama also affirmed the critical role of Social Security and Medicare in income security.  These programs should be strengthened, not weakened.  Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who sat behind the president as he spoke, experienced the value of Social Security first hand as a young child. Read his story and learn about the value of social security for all generations in our publication Social Security: What’s at Stake for Children, Youth, and Grandfamilies.

Education

The president highlighted the connection between opportunity and education to ensure “every American has…the training needed to land a good-paying job.” He called for Pre-K for all and the importance of making college affordable for every American.  For many years, Generations United’s Seniors4Kids program has advocated for early investments in children, Pre-K in particular because of the impact on all generations. Learn more about Seniors4Kids here.

Civic Engagement

The president explained that “our collective future depends on your willingness to uphold your obligations as a citizen. To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us.”

He highlighted how that spirit of engagement and interconnectedness is evident across the ages. “I see it in the Dreamer who stays up late to finish her science project, and the teacher who comes in early because he knows she might someday cure a disease….. I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast her vote as long as she has to; the new citizen who casts his for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count, because each of them in different ways know how much that precious right is worth.”

Intergenerational strategies are key to civic engagement and passing the value on from generation to generation. In a study with MetLife Mature Market Institute, Generations United found 73% of grandparents said voting is a value they are currently or are interested in passing down and nearly 50% are passing down the value of volunteering and civic engagement. Read more in Grandparents Investing in Grandchildren and find strategies in Out of Many, One.

In closing the president proclaimed “I stand here, as confident as ever, that the State of our Union is strong.” And it is, and will continue to be, if we understand our changing race and age demographics are our country’s greatest assets. We are stronger together. 

Storied Lives

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 Storied Lives, which pairs service-minded high-potential students who love to write with the elderly living in residential care homes, who are often lonely and want to tell their stories.

(Check our archives for parts 1-71.)

Over the course of a program, the students will spend quality time with their assigned elderly person, getting to know them, writing a story about their life, and finally, presenting the story to their resident at the program’s closing ceremony.

The program was founded in 2012 in Morris County, NJ, pairing students from West Morris Mendham High School with elderly residents at Morris Hills Center in Morristown, NJ.

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 Only Safe Place He Had

This story first appeared in our State of Grandfamilies in America: 2015 report.

As a line lead for his job in the mobile canning and bottling industry, the farthest Chad Dingle has ever traveled is about five hours from his Oregon home. But, in life, he has traveled more than any 23-year-old should ever have to go.

With his mother and father trapped in alcoholism and drug abuse, Dingle spent infancy and his toddler years neglected and abused – memories that only came back in nightmares – until his grandmother could get full custody when he was 3 and she and her newly-wed husband could adopt him when he was 4, diagnosed with something not a lot of people knew about at the time: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“One thing I’ve noticed is that most people go to grandma’s house and get spoiled,” Dingle said. “But for me, it was the only safe place I had. I never liked going back to my parents’ house. Getting to live with grandma was like ‘going to grandma’s house’ all the time. I had more love there than anywhere else in my life.”

The journey toward wholeness continued through the PTSD, bullying from other children, anger, depression, cutting, suicidal thoughts and much more. “It was a tough position (for my grandmother) to be in. She wasn’t my mom, but she was. She dropped everything, including a good job, and became a stay-at-home mom for me – everything to provide the safest home for me.”

The years of learning how to navigate the complex legal, emotional, financial and physical issues have resulted in three books written to help families in similar situations. In her book, Second Time Around: Help for Grandparents Who Raise their Children’s Kids, Dingle’s mom, Joan, stressed the critical role that quality, professional counseling and support services play in helping grandfamilies succeed and thrive. Together, Dingle and his mom wrote Addiction & Families and the just-released Raising Children of Alcoholics & Drug Users.

“It took me a long time because I was a rebel as a kid,” Dingle said. “I couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that (my mom/ grandmother) did save my life. She is the strongest woman I’ve ever known. I’m a complete mama’s boy. I know where my half siblings are now – really messed up – and that could have been me.”

Today, Dingle still grapples with residual matters. For example, he said he contacted his birth father two years ago and is still trying to figure out whether he wants him in his life. “It’s been a lot,” Dingle reflected.

Yet, any miles he travels will now include his wife. “We were high school sweethearts – went to separate high schools and had about five or six years when we hardly ever saw each other,” Dingle said. And, they will include the couple’s baby, expected with great excitement this year.

“Family doesn’t have to be blood. It really comes down to the relationships you can have,” Dingle said. “Whoever loves you, and you love, is your family.”

Learn more about Chad Dingle, Joan Callander Dingle and their books.

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.

JCA Heyman Interages Center - Intergenerational Bridges

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.

Courtesy of JCA Heyman Interage Center

This week’s cool ideas is JCA Heyman Interages Center - Intergenerational Bridges in Maryland that builds relationships between older adult volunteers and at-risk immigrant students through a weekly after school mentoring program in elementary, middle and high schools.

(Check our archives for parts 1-69.)

The JCA Heyman Interages® Center intergenerational programs have brought children and older adults together for 30 years.

Since 1986, thousands of children from hundreds of schools and hundreds of isolated older adults from senior facilities have benefited from participation in our programs.

Over the years hundreds of dedicated and caring older adult volunteers, who are the heart of Interages, have made a significant difference in the lives of children.

Student outcomes include improved English communication and language skills, strengthened academic success strategies, enhanced transition to life in the United States, and increased self-confidence.

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.

Urban Warriors

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 Urban Warriors, a program of the YMCA of Metro Chicago and the Adler School of Professional Psychology, that pairs youth from Chicago’s roughest neighborhoods with military veterans.

(Check our archives for parts 1-68.)

The program was featured in a July 11, 2014 Chicago Tribune article. According to that piece, some of the program’s young participants were referred by their schools or the justice system.

The program is part of the Y’s broader “focus on treating mental and emotional wounds that youths growing up in Chicago’s more fractured communities suffer.”

The Tribune article shed light on the hard lives of Alex (who was 18 at the time of the article) and Sammy (who was 15).

“I’ve seen people get shot,” Alex told the Tribune reporter, Annie Sweeney. “It does...mess my head up. But I’m living it every day. So, like, I guess I put up with it.”

“Right when I walked outside they shot someone at the corner,” recalled Sammy, who the Tribune noted is not in a gang. “Then they started chasing me and shooting. ...I got away. Again. That was my second time.”

Luckily for the young men, the vets chosen for the Urban Warrior project could relate.

Many of them not only suffered stress from their experiences in combat, but, like Alex and Sammy, they also grew up in Little Village and knew the dangers youth faced on the streets.

Read the full Chicago Tribune article.

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.

Road Scholar Intergenerational Programs

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 Road Scholar Intergenerational Programs, which were designed for adults (grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, or authorized family friends) to participate in a learning adventure with their young relatives or friends.

(Check our archives for parts 1-67.)

These programs allow older adults to get to know their younger generations better. Programs exist throughout the country.

Nancy Nathan, a Washington-based television news journalist and freelance travel writer, recounted her experience in a Washington Post article.

“We chose the Grand Canyon trip from a list of more than 60 very reasonably-priced grandparent-grandchild possibilities, from Hawaii to Yellowstone, Chicago to Chincoteague,” she wrote.

“Road Scholar — the “lifelong learning” tour group formerly known as Elderhostel and mostly aimed at older adults — expands its intergenerational tour listings by 10 percent each year.”

Learn more from Nancy’s article.

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.