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News for Advocates of Children, Youth and Older Adults  

from Generations United

Featured Articles
A National Agenda to Ensure Every Child Has a Family
Generations United on Intergenerational Living
Congrats, Austin Heyman!
Congrats, Khari!
Our Thanks
Federal Agencies Help Foster & Kinship Care Youth Thrive
Start Planning for Grandparents Day
LGBT Pride Month
Request for Grandfamilies
Join Us on Instagram!
Cool Intergenerational Ideas
Become a Generations United Senior Fellow
Publications for Sale
Funding Opportunities
Great Resources
Events
In the News
Stay Connected

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 Volume 9, Issue 23
June 11, 2014

One Week Left to Register for the Legislative Policy Briefing of A National Agenda to Ensure Every Child Has a Family

Next week, Advocates for Families First - a partnership of Generations United, National Foster Parent Association and the North American Council on Adoptable Children to promote the rights of kids at risk from abuse or neglect - will convene in Washington, D.C. You can join them on Weds., June 18, to learn about policy recommendations that provide care for kinship, foster or adoptive families in addition to empowering children and youth to take an active role in their case planning. Learn more

Generations United on D.C. Breakdown

Last week, Donna Butts did a segment with D.C. Breakdown's host Angela Rae on Grandfamilies. Donna set the record straight on the stereotype of grandfamilies as single-grandparent households. "There are a number of single grandparents who are raising grandchildren," she said. "But the majority are married couples, and they often times have to make that decision that one of them won't be working any longer so that they can help to provide the care and support that's needed for the children." Watch the full segment
(PHOTO: Bill Ryan/The Gazette) Austin Heyman (left) chats with Councilman Philip M. Andrews before the awards lunch in Gaithersburg.
Congratulations, Austin Heyman!

We're delighted that our friend, Austin Heyman, was honored with the Jewish Council for the Aging's 2014 Margaret Cutler Intergenerational Leadership Award, which recognized Austin's three decades of working to close the generation gap. "Everyone is amazed with [Heyman],"  Carol Croll, senior director of the council's Heyman Interages Center, told the Gazette newspaper. "He has done so much for the community. He is not just someone who goes to meetings: He is an action person, and he has impacted people. He is much loved by everybody." Learn more

Khari (right) with his mentor.
Congratulations, Khari!

Khari Eyen Zame Johnson, a Generations United/Mentor Up Youth Jumpstart Grantee and the chief research youth investigator for I SAW! DC, was recently presented a scholarship award by Mt. Zion Church and historian elder Carter Bowman II for his work on the youth-led research project that highlights the historical significance of Georgetown's African American community. Elder Carter Bowman made this generous dedication of a scholarship in honor of his late wife Mamie Bowman with the Carter & Mammie Bowman fund. 

A Huge Thanks to Our Members and Supporters

Generations United  thanks our members and supportersMerci. Danke. Arigato. Asante. Gracias. Thank you. You can donate as a Tribute Gift in honor or memory of someone. Click & help us make 2014 even better.

(PHOTO: Community Coalition)

Federal Agencies Step Up to Help Youth in Foster and Kinship Care Thrive

The Child Welfare and Mental Health Coalition had a busy month in May, with a number of federal actions taken by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to protect children in foster care. Additionally, new reports by the Government Accountability Office and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, respectively, focus on improving oversight of the Fostering Connections Act and chronicles the housing needs of young people. Learn more

Start Planning Now for Grandparents Day, Sept. 7    
Grandparents day is coming up. Are you going to Do Something Grand? Let us know, so we can highlight creative ideas through our blog, social media and Generations This Week e-newsletter before the holiday.  

LGBT Pride Month

Last week, we highlighted the National Resource Center on LGBT Aging's toolkit. Today, we share an article by Fairley Parson, manager of community engagement at Openhouse in San Francisco, which focuses on how intergenerational programs disrupt ageism and helps younger and older generations of the LGBT community find common ground. Learn more

Request for Multigenerational Families 

A reporter with a national publication is seeking multigenerational families, preferably a family member between the ages of 45 and 60 years old, to possibly interview for a story on multigenerational living. If you know of any such family and could pass along their name and contact information to Generations United's Communications Specialist Alan King, so we can share them with the reporter, he would be very grateful.

Generations United on Instagram
We're excited to capture and share our intergenerational moments. What about you? Here's a fast, beautiful  and  fun way to learn about, and stay updated on, our initiatives. Stay tuned for upcoming intergenerational photo contests and more. Follow us

Cool Intergenerational Ideas - Text them, Tweet them or Facebook Post them!

Got something cool your organization tried and was successful in connecting generations, why not tweet them to #cooligideas, post them to our Facebook Group, Intergenerational Connections (if you're a Youth Jumpstart Grantee, share your ideas here) or text us through Facebook's Messenger app (friend me to join our Cool Intergenerational Ideas group discussion)? We want to highlight innovative age-optimized programs and practices through our blog, social media and weekly e-newsletter! Disclaimer: Spotlighting ideas does not imply Generations United's endorsement or recommendation, but rather encourages ideas to inspire other programs. Share the inspiration

Become a Generations United Senior Fellow

Are you a senior professional in the Washington area who has expertise, energy and wisdom to share? Then we're looking to recruit you as a Senior Fellow. The program is an opportunity to apply your skills to new areas of interest, gain a better understanding of Generations United and our impact, approach, strategies, opportunities, and challenges. Consider contributing to our mission. Learn more

Publications for Sale

Under One Roof and Connecting Generations are available for the shipping and handling price. At $4.50, Under One Roof is an invaluable guide on starting and strengthening intergenerational shared site programs, where children/youth and older adults participate in ongoing services and/or programming concurrently at the same site. Connecting Generations, a user-friendly guide to creating meaningful intergenerational programs, is available for $5.50. Order your copies today!

Funding Opportunities
Safeway Foundation Grants. The Safeway Foundation supports nonprofits providing services in four priority areas: hunger relief, education, health and human services, and assisting people with disabilities. Deadlines: quarterly and biannual. Learn more

 

Youth Grants. YSA's Summer of Service Awards is offering grants of $1,000 to young change-makers, ages 5-18, who are creating positive change through volunteering and service.Deadline: July 31, 2014. Learn more

 

If you have - or know of - any intergenerational funding opportunities, please send them to Alan King at aking@gu.org

Great Resources
Reports

Hunger Doesn't Take a Vacation

This new report by the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) shows that while low income chidlren's participation in summer food programs has grown in recent years, the program is still only reaching a very small fraction of children. Learn more

 

If you have reports on issues that help young and old, please send them to Alan King at aking@gu.org.

Online Resources 

Policy Basics: Introduction to SNAPPolicy Basics is a brief background on SNAP, how it works, and how it helps more than 47 million low-income Americans (see Chart Book and State Fact Sheets) to afford a nutritionally adequate diet in a typical month. Learn more


Webinars 

Advocates for Families First Policy Agenda. Advocates for Families First. Weds., June 25, 1pm eastern (12pm central, 11am mountain and 10am pacific).Learn more 

Events
Conferences 
n4a Answers on Aging Conference. National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Dallas, TX. July 12-16, 2014. Learn more

 

SAVE the DATE: 12th Annual Professional Conference - "Creative Strategies Promoting the Well-Being of Youth: Diversifying Your Professional Toolbox". Grandparents As Parents. Los Angeles, CA. Nov. 3, 2014. Learn more

 

Aging in America Conference. American Society on Aging. Chicago, IL. March 23-27, 2015. Learn more

In the News                
Houses for families who agree to adopt children? The idea might sound too good to be true, but Bridge Meadows pulled it off in Portland, Oregon. Read "PJ Bremier: Fine Living - Multigenerational living catches on".
Quote

"The bond, the special bond, between kids and grandparents is unique and should be treasured. May I be as great a grandfather as Gus was to me." ~Keith Richards, Rolling Stone guitarist 

Your Feedback Invited! 

We want Generations This Week to be a real resource for you. Please send any national news on intergenerational issues in addition to upcoming conferences, funding opportunities, reports and webinars. Local and state events can be shared in our Facebook group. Please also let us know how we can improve! My email is aking@gu.org. I'd love to hear from you!

 

Best,       

 

Alan King 

Communications Specialist

Generations United 

 

  
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