Volume 16 | Issue 1 | January 6, 2021
Generations This Week
News for Advocates of Children, Youth and Older Adults from Generations United
Generations United in the News
  • USA TODAY ran a piece on the unique struggles that Black kinship caregivers face during COVID-19. The article features Generations United's GRAND Voice Member Victoria Gray and also quotes our longtime Special Advisor Ana Beltran. Read the story.

  • A Christian Science Monitor piece features a multigenerational family that came together two weeks before the pandemic and highlights the benefits of that arrangement. The article quotes our Deputy Executive Director Jaia Peterson Lent. Read the story.

  • Generations United was happy to help Rachel Feintzeig with her Wall Street Journal column on the important role grandparents are playing in this pandemic. Learn more.

  • In the first of a five-part series, "You, Me, and COVID-19," our Executive Director Donna Butts was a guest on Vox's Today, Explained podcast. She spoke about the benefits of living in a multigenerational household. Check it out.
Submit to Present at our 2021 Virtual Conference
The Call for Sessions for Generations United’s Virtual Global Intergenerational Conference is now open! We are seeking proposals on cutting-edge intergenerational research, policies, and practices that are relevant, informative, creative; represent the great diversity in our field; and showcase practices that support diversity, equity, and inclusion. The deadline for submissions is January 31, 2021. Learn more and submit your proposal.

If you’d like to join the conference planning committee, email us at conference@gu.org.
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 Signed into Law Includes Supports for Grandfamilies
The $1.4 trillion omnibus spending package funds the government for 2021 and includes $900 billion in COVID-19 relief. It includes provisions specific to grandfamilies for whom Generations United has been advocating: $20 million to enhance, develop and evaluate kinship navigator programs; federal reimbursement for kinship navigators during the pandemic; and $5 million for the LEGACY Act of 2003—the first federal law to create affordable housing opportunities for grandfamilies. Thank you to everyone who contacted their members of Congress and raised their GRAND voices! Learn more.
A Huge Thanks to Our Members and Supporters
We thank our board members—Jatrice Martel Gaiter, Joseph Cuticelli, and Lisa Coen—for their contributions. We also thank those who gave in honor of someone or a cause:

  • Donna Butts (in honor of "Team GU and all their accomplishments in 2020!")
  • Jean Fiorito (in honor of "M/M Martin Fiorito, M/M Bruce Fiorito, M/M Ralph Silano"
  • Jenni Adair (in honor of "Jenn Wong")
  • Katherine Chesterson (in honor of "Mary Cool Bianco")
  • Susan Seperson (in honor of "Donna Butts")

Tweet of the Week
Submit your Grandfamily's COVID-19 Story
Generations United is collecting stories of grandfamilies experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. These stories may be used for advocacy, on our websites, or in the media. Submit your story.
Cool Idea
Eldera
This new virtual mentorship program, pairs adults over 60 with kids from around the world to facilitate learning, connection and the nurturing of intergenerational friendships. Learn more.
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.
Culture United
Soul
Joe Gardner, a middle-school band teacher, gets the chance of a lifetime to play at the best jazz club in town. But one small misstep takes him from the streets of New York City to The Great Before—a fantastical place where new souls get their personalities, quirks and interests before they go to Earth. Determined to return to his life, Joe teams up with a precocious soul, 22, who has never understood the appeal of the human experience. As Joe desperately tries to show 22 what’s great about living, he may just discover the answers to some of life’s most important questions. The film's musical consultants was an #intergenerational group that included Batiste, 34, and Herbie Hancock, 80. Learn more.
Culture United highlights films, books, music and TV shows with an intergenerational theme. Do you have any suggestions? Share them with us, and we'll share in the weeks and months to come. We welcome responses or reactions. We'll possibly feature them on our blog. See disclaimer.
Think Intergenerational - Funding Opportunities
Sky Ranch Foundation. The Sky Ranch Foundation supports nonprofit organizations throughout the United States and its territories that work to prevent involvement in the criminal justice system by providing them comprehensive support services that may include education, job training, enrichment activities, counseling, and case management. Preference is given to organizations working with youth between the ages of 11 and 18. Deadline for LOIs: Jan. 31, 2021. Learn more.

The Academy's 2021 Summer Internship Application Season is Now Open! The National Academy of Social Insurance is looking for graduate students, recent graduates, and qualified upper-division undergraduate students for paid summer internships in public policy. Students interested in improving the well-being of individuals and society through economic, social, and/or health policy are encouraged to apply for one of the Academy’s nationally-competitive internship programs: Merton C. Bernstein Internship on Social Insurance, Somers Aging and Long-Term Care Research Internship, Eileen Sweeney Graduate Internship in Disability Policy, and Rashi Fein Internship in Health Policy. Deadline for Rashi Fein Internship in Health Policy: Jan. 8, 2021. All other deadlines: Jan. 29, 2021. Learn more.

The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health is a collaborative fund focusing on the mental health and well-being of adolescents who are of color and/or LGBTQ+. Created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a devastating impact on young people across the United States, The Upswing Fund will provide critical resources to front-line organizations that provide the services that young people rely on. Learn more about their fall grant opportunity which opened October 20th.

If you have—or know of—any intergenerational funding opportunities, please send them to gu@gu.org.
Think Intergenerational - Great Resources
Research & Resources
Fact sheet: Intergenerational Shared Sites includes updated information about these important program models and what we know about their impact. Learn more.

Federal Funding Opportunities for Intergenerational Shared Sites Chart is designed to share some federal funding sources that include—or could include—support for intergenerational shared sites. Learn more.

Generations United's 2020 State of Grandfamilies Report—Facing a Pandemic: Grandfamilies Living Together During COVID-19 and Thriving BeyondGrandfamily caregivers are the first line of defense for children during the pandemic, having stepped in when parents cannot raise them for many reasons, including cases where children's parents have died from the COVID-19 virus. Download the full report, watch Senator Sherrod Brown's acceptance speech, and listen to stories of grandfamilies impacted by COVID-19. Learn more.

Staying Healthy Across Generations: Vaccines are Essential for All Ages. Generations United's new infographic illustrates that vaccines aren't just for kids-they protect all generations- especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying up to date on vaccines for the flu, pneumonia and whooping cough are important to protect both older adults and children. Soon a vaccine for COVID-19 will also be critical for both age groups. Check it out.

Intergenerational Programs and Physical Distancing. This guide by Generations United includes ideas and solutions on how intergenerational professionals can adapt programs and activities and create new intergenerational connections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more.

Grandfamilies COVID-19 Fact Sheets in English and Spanish. These fact sheets from Generations United provide information for grandfamilies to stay healthy, informed and connected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more.

Interactive Toolkit: Connecting Generations in Senior Housing. This toolkit, developed by Generations United and the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston with funding from RRF Foundation for Aging, is now a website with downloadable resources. It was designed specifically to help senior housing organizations plan and implement high-quality intergenerational programs that will benefit residents and young people in their communities. Visit the site
Upcoming Events
Amazon donates to Generations United when you shop AmazonSmile
When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase price to Generations United.

"How far you go in life depends on your being tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant of the weak and strong. Because someday in life you will have been all of these."—George Washington Carver
Your Feedback Invited
We want Generations This Week to be a real resource for you. Please send us 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! Email us at gu@gu.org. We'd love to hear from you!

Best,
Alan King
Communications Specialist
Generations United
Treat Yourself GRAND!
As a reader of Generations This Week, you are eligible to receive a complimentary subscription to GRAND - The Lifestyle Magazine for Awesome Grandparents. 

That's a $26 value for 12 issues delivered right to your inbox. Get valuable offers and inspirational articles like our column on GRAND Families, and more.