Generations This Week

Achieve your outreach and marketing goals while supporting the premier event for intergenerational practitioners, researchers, advocates, administrators, and students. Click here to learn more about all of our sponsorship opportunities. While you're on our site, take advantage of the new advanced registration rate of only $375! You can also learn more about Conference Continuing Education Credits.

Become a Program of Distinction

Think your intergenerational program has what it takes to be among an elite group that's effectively connecting generations? Then we want to hear from you. Our Program of Distinction designation serves as the U.S. benchmark for intergenerational programs and is based on the criteria that underpin the effectiveness of high quality intergenerational programs. The deadline to apply is May 1, but we are happy to accept your application immediately. Contact Emily Duda with any questions. Learn more ( Read how the designation helped past designees .)

Unretirement: How Baby Boomers Are Changing The Way We Think About Work, Community and the Good Life

The budget battles of recent years have amplified the warnings of demographic doomsayers who predicted that a wave of baby boomers would bleed America dry, bankrupting Social Security and Medicare as they faded into an impoverished old age. On the contrary, argues award-winning journalist Chris Farrell, we are instead on the verge of a broad, positive transformation of our economy and society. Learn more

Cruising with your Grandkids in your own Backyard

Spring is two weeks away! And, according to traveling pubs, it's the start of a shoulder season - the time between the travel market's high and low season. In their article, "Cruising with your grandkids in your own backyard," which appears in the new issue of GRAND Magazine, Generations United's Deputy Executive Director Jaia Peterson Lent and Communications Specialist Alan King provide tips on how grandfamilies (or grandparents raising grandchildren) can travel and explore together on a budget. Read the article.

Covered: A Week-by-Week Look at the 1965 Politics that Created Medicare and Medicaid

Through his blog series, Bob Rosenblatt, a senior fellow at the National Academy of Social Insurance and former Los Angeles Times Washington correspondent, explains the maneuvers that led to the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid on July 30, 1965. Rosenblatt provides readers with an informative and entertaining look at leaders in the 89th Congress and other major players. Learn more

Culture United

The Work: My Search for a Life that Matters

Our long-time friend, Wes Moore, who also serves on our National Center on Grandfamilies Advisory Council, continues his inspirational quest for a meaningful life and shares the powerful lessons that led him to a new definition of success, which, in part, he credits his grandfather: "For as long as he lived, my grandfather and the way he lived his life inspired me to be better. To never be afraid of difference or of being 'different.' To cherish time with family and friends. He and my grandmother showed me that true heroism doesn't come with a job description or job title. It doesn't have to come with awards or citations. ...Heroism is simply the idea of living your life with the passion that it deserves. It's knowing that independent thought and love-inspired vision are the greatest gifts we have been given, and that the chance to serve is the truest way of saying thank you." Learn more

Do you know of any films, books, music and TV shows with an intergenerational theme? Share them with us and we'll share in the weeks and months to come. Disclaimer: Inclusion in this section is not an endorsement from Generations United. Rather, it is a way of showing the multiplying impact when the arts and pop culture are age-advantaged.

The Kinship Parenting Toolbox is Now Available!

The Kinship Parenting Toolbox, to which our own Ana Beltran contributed, o?ers kinship parents a useful tool and guide in their journey parenting the second time around. Containing articles from more than 70 contributors touched in a variety of ways by kinship care, including grandparents raising grandchildren, children raised by other relatives or family friends, social workers, therapists, kinship support organizations and others, The Kinship Parenting Toolbox provides a wide range of view-points on various topics. Learn more

Ask your Representative to sign the "Dear Colleague" Letter in support of FY 16 Funding for Lifespan Respite

The National Respite Coalition is asking its colleagues and supporters to call or contact their Representative and urge them to sign onto a "Dear Colleague" letter that supports funding for respite care across the generations, including grandfamilies. "Calling your member's office and leaving a quick message carries the most weight," according to NRC.

Download NRC's talking points, then call the Capitol Hill Switchboard at 202-225-3121 and ask for your Representative's office. You can also locate your Representative's contact info www.house.gov. Deadline for Members to sign Rep. Langevin's respite care funding Congressional Letter is March 20, 2015. To sign on, contact Rep. Langevin's office at 202-225-2735.

A Huge Thanks to Our Members and Supporters

Generations United thanks our members and supporters. Merci. Danke. Arigato. Asante. Gracias. Thank you. You can also honor a friend or loved one with a Tribute Gift. Donate to help us unleash the potential of an "age-amped" society.

Teen Elder Computer Help (TECH) - Cool Ideas

This week's cool idea is the Central Oregon Council on Aging (COCOA)'s TECH, an intergenerational tech training for older adults based in Bend, OR. This program teams teenagers with seniors to teach Facebook, digital camera download, cell phone and Skype. T weet your cool intergenerational ideas to #cooligideas . You can also p ost them to our Intergenerational Connections Facebook Group or just text us through the Facebook Messenger app ( friend me to join our Cool Ideas group discussion). We want to highlight innovative age-optimized programs and practices through our blog, social media and weekly e-newsletter! Share the inspiration . Learn more about TECH.

Funding Opportunities

Capital Grants. The Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation is offering capital grants for qualified organizations that provide services in: Older Adults; Workforce Development; Basic Human Needs and Health; Disabilities, Education, Children, Youth and Families;

and General Community Support. Letters of Intent received on a rolling basis. Learn more

Kohl's Cares Scholarship Program. Nominate a young volunteer, ages 6-18, who has made a difference in your community. Top winners each receive $10,000 for higher education. Winners will be chosen based on the benefits and outcomes of their volunteer service. Nominators must be 21 or older. Deadline: March 13, 2015. Learn more

Art Works Grant. The National Endowment for the Arts is offering grants between $10,000 and $100,000 for innovative art that engages the full range of demographics of their communities, as well as individuals of all physical and cognitive abilities. Deadline: Rolling. Learn more

Grants for Native Tradition Programs for Youth. The First Nations' Native Youth and Culture Fund provides grants of $5,000 to $20,000 for projects that focus on youth and incorporate Native culture and tradition to address issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, mental health, and other social issues. Deadline: Online Phase One proposals must be submitted by March 12, 2015. Learn more

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

Great Resources
Resources

10 Ways to be a Better Mentor, From Those Who've Done It

Here are 10 principles shared by executives successful in their roles as mentors. They attribute their success to asking more than they answer, setting clear expectations and reaching outside of their department. Learn more

Model Family Foster Home Licensing Standards, Under One Roof

and Connecting Generations

These resources are available for the shipping and handling price - Model Family Foster Home Licensing Standards - $4.50, Under One Roof - $4.50, Connecting Generations - $5.50. Order your copies today!

Events

Conferences

An Intergenerational Community Built on an Innovative Funding Model and Partnerships: Visit to Bridge Meadows. Alliance for Strong Families and Communities. Portland, OR. March 18 - 19, 2015. Learn more

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

Ready by 21 National Meeting. The Forum for Youth Investment. New Orleans, LA. March 31 - April 2, 2015. Learn more

More Powerful Together: The 26th Annual National Service-Learning Conference. National Youth Leadership Council. Washington, DC. April 8-11, 2015. Learn more

Intergenerational Action on a Global Scale. Generations United, Seagull Schools, International Consortium of Intergenerational Programmes (ICIP), UNA-Hawaii and JANCA. Honolulu, HI. July 21-24, 2015. Learn more

2015 Joint International Conference: Global Communities Coming Together. Aged and Community Services Australia and IAHSA. Perth, Australia. August 31 - September 4, 2015. Learn more

Quote

" A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world." ~Lois Wyse

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! My email is aking@gu.org. I'd love to hear from you!

Best,

Alan King

Communications Specialist

Generations United

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