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 Intergenerational Rock Band

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 the annual 

Intergenerational Rock Band of Drury University in Missouri, which brings together Drury music therapy students along with older adults to perform a wide range of songs.

(Check our archives for parts 1-64.)

Older adults come from The Gardens retirement facility and Drury's Institute of Mature Learners.

“The values inherent in music can transcend age, and we always pick songs that are about the importance of living for the moment with a positive message everyone can relate to,” said Dr. Natalie Wlodarczyk (Wool-dar-zik), assistant professor of music therapy.

Some residents suffer from dementia and do not recall ever having attended practice, but their knowledge is evident when they sing along with every song.

Dr. Wlodarczyk says residents can remember the music, but not having attended practice because music is stored in a different part of the brain.

She adds that the music also helps the residents with cognitive abilities.

The seniors and the students both enjoy their time together. Drury student Tyler Stokes, a guitar player for the band, said, “Anyone can be hip or rock. It is a state of mind not an age or stereotype.”

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 Villa Maria Childcare 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 Villa Maria Childcare Center, an intergenerational shared site in Fargo, North Dakota, where children and older adults connect.

(Check our archives for parts 1-63.)

The Villa Maria Childcare Center was opened in March 1980 and is governed and operated by the Villa Maria Resident Council.

The idea of having children in the nursing home setting was appealing, as children are a natural part of most people’s “home” environment and the goal of Villa Maria is to be as homelike as possible.

Thus, the children have much contact with the residents of the home; sending or hand-delivering cards for the hospitalized residents or on birthdays, visiting one-to-one in resident’s rooms, and participating in group activities together.

The residents become wonderful adoptive grandparents for the children and form special relationships that are beneficial to both the elderly and the children. This is a unique opportunity for many children who do not have grandparents in their lives.

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.

Generations United Welcomes New Board Members

Generations United elected two new members to its Board: Amanda Charlsie Cavaleri, founder and CEO of Connect the Ages, and Joseph Cuticelli, head of Seniors for Sodexo North America.

Amanda Cavaleri is a Millennial entrepreneur and global thought leader on a mission to build technology into a tool to bridge generations and foster purpose.

"I am thrilled to contribute a Millennial perspective and a gerontechnology background to the Generations United Board," Cavaleri said.

Her holistic approach and focus on value creation challenges the norm. She brings intergenerational and multidisciplinary innovation to the growing longevity economy in an energetic response to massive demographic, economic, policy, technological and workforce opportunities.

"Intergenerational collaboration has the potential to better our families, our schools, our aging experience, our communities and our world," Cavaleri said.

In 2014, she founded Connect the Ages, an intergenerational storytelling and mentorship program, through which elders teach young people about the values of being in the moment, learning from mistakes and intrinsic rewards while younger people help older adults feel relevant in their community and co-create avenues for continual contribution.


"The timing to bridge the generations is now," Cavaleri said. "I am honored to join Generations United on this journey."

As head of Seniors for Sodexo North America, Joseph Cuticelli is responsible for a business with $720 million in annual revenues that serves more than 400 client locations. He is a member of the North America Regional Leadership Committee for Sodexo, the 18th largest employer in the world and the leaders in delivering integrated facilities management, food service operations and recognition programs in 80 countries.

At Sodexo, he has held positions that include Vice President of Client Relations for Seniors, where he developed and executed a successful long-
term retention strategy and exceeding financial and sales targets. His other positions were Director of Business Development for Education, District Manager for Seniors and Area Generation Management for Seniors.

The Friendship 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 Friendship Center - an intergenerational child care facility in Hackettstown, New Jersey, that incorporates older adults from Heath Village (the adjacent retirement community) into its child care programs.

(Check our archives for parts 1-62.)

Senior volunteers assist the Friendship Center's professional staff by teaching Bible stories and foreign languages, conducting nature walks, providing musical accompaniment, reading stories, and supervising craft and woodworking projects.

Heath Village residents join with the children for special events and holiday celebrations, and pair off with them to be pen pals.

Most important, the Heath Village residents who share in the Friendship Center's activities bring their maturity and love of children to help create a warm, caring Christian environment, giving children the feel of a large extended family.

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.

Sustainable development through building age inclusive urban environment - UN International Day of Older Persons

Statement from the United Nations

Click here to view enlarged photo.

According to the newly released 2015 Revision of World Population Prospects, there are 901 million people aged 60 or over in 2015, making up 12 percent of the global population. With a 3.26 percent growth rate each year, the number of older persons in the world is projected to be 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050, and could rise to 3.2 billion in 2100.

Older persons are becoming an increasingly central demographic group in our world. To bring more attention to older persons, the United Nations is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP) on 1 October with the theme “sustainability and age inclusiveness in the urban environment”.

Events worldwide to celebrate older persons

Events marking the IDOP are scheduled around the world on 15 October, including a panel discussion in New York under the theme “Key components for age inclusiveness in urban environments”, a fundraising luncheon “Changing how we view older persons”, and another in Geneva, Switzerland titled “How to get to 100 and enjoy it!”.

“The steady increase in human longevity represents one of the greatest transformations and challenges of our time” Ban Ki-moon UN Secretary-General

The objectives of this year’s celebration are to draw attention to building age-inclusive cities in policy and technique scale, engaging older persons’ participation in city planning, building partnerships between government and the private sector to provide affordable and appropriate housing and transportation, as well as increasing inter-generational support for the social, economic and cultural arenas.

Keeping up with changing demographic trends

“The steady increase in human longevity represents one of the greatest transformations and challenges of our time. However, failure to keep pace with changing demographic trends will make it difficult to achieve a sustainable, secure and fulfilling future for people of all ages,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed during the celebrations of the day last year. He pointed out that to realize sustainable development, older persons are a vital factor that should be taken into account.

The challenges caused by older persons residing in urban areas stand out, due to the fact that the move of older people to cities is occurring at higher frequency and on a larger scale. Six out of every 10 people in the world are expected to reside in urban areas by 2030. Consistent with urbanization trends, the number of older persons is increasing most rapidly in urban areas in developing countries.

This means that the number of people over 60 living in cities may grow to over 900 million by 2015, making up a quarter of the total urban population in developing countries. Based on these facts, the impact of the new urban environment on older persons, as well as the impact of older persons on the new urban environment, takes centre stage at this year’s event.

“In this effort, we must address shifting demographics, especially the needs and concerns of the world’s increasing number of older persons,” Ban Ki-moon said.

Strengthening human rights protection

In recent decades, the UN has made efforts within various areas affecting older persons’ lives, including strengthening their human rights protection, promoting a society for all, realizing longevity and reducing aging pressures occurring in social settings. This year, the commemoration seeks to demonstrate that an age-inclusive agenda is crucial for sustainable urban environments to promote equity, welfare and shared property for all.

Along with the IDOP celebration, the World Population Ageing Report 2015: Highlights is expected to be launched in October. The report will further illustrate the global trends in population ageing and include a series of indicators of the ageing process by development regions, major areas, regions and countries.