Volume 15 | Issue 44 | November 4, 2020
Generations This Week
News for Advocates of Children, Youth and Older Adults from Generations United
Generations United in the News
  • The New York Times ran an article on how older adults benefit from volunteering virtually. This piece by Mark Miller quotes our Executive Director Donna Butts. Learn more.
Congratulations to This Year's AARP Purpose Prize Winners and Fellows!
These older adults inspire and show how our own life experiences can be used to find innovative solutions to help others and make a difference in communities across the country. Donna serves as one of the proud judges of this wonderful recognition. Learn more.
Work Anniversary
At our September board meeting, we recognized five of our staff who had recent work anniversaries. We'll be rolling out the announcements in each issue of Generations This Week. First up...is our Deputy Executive Director Jaia Peterson Lent, who celebrated 20 years with Generations United. You can join us in congratulating Jaia by emailing her

Stay tuned to see who we announce next week.
A Huge Thanks to Our Members and Supporters
We thank William Libro, who gave in honor of Ned Carey's Birthday. Together, we are building a world that values all generations! Donate to help us unleash the potential of an "age-amped" society. If you're an organization, join us!
Karen Gillespie
StoryCorps Grandfamilies Stories—Karen Gillespie and Pat Ozley
Over the summer, StoryCorps recorded conversations as part of a project that focused on helping us understand the unique impacts COVID-19 is having on various types of families, including grandfamilies. It was made possible with support from the Brookdale Foundation Group, Casey Family Programs, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in partnership with Generations United. Four of these stories featuring GRAND Voices have been edited and are now posted on our website.

This week, listen to Generations United’s GRAND Voice Member Karen Gillespie and Pat Ozley discuss how they had to adjust to raise grandchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic. Listen to their story.

This segment was produced by StoryCorps, a non-profit whose mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories in order to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world.
Join Us for Generations United's 2021 Virtual Global Intergenerational Conference
While we won't be able to celebrate in person, our biennial international conference will be packed with opportunities to network, share best practices, learn about the latest research and connect with people around the globe who are passionate about high quality intergenerational programs. Stay tuned for more details about our summer 2021 event including dates, registration, and the call for sessions.

If you’d like to join the conference planning committee, email us at conference@gu.org.
Tweet of the Week
Cool Ideas
Poets & Writers' Intergenerational Workshop Exchange in Los Angeles started in 2016. In this workshop, teens and older adults write in response to each other, then share their work at a celebratory reading.

During the inaugural workshop, Angela Peñaredondo—a Pilipinx poet and artist—led a meditation and writing exercise where participants wrote about a single object. One older adult, a World War II Filipino American veteran, wrote about a pen he used to write a letter to his granddaughter. 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
Neighbors: The Power of the People Next Door by Brenda Krause Eheart
This book tells the story of Hope Meadows, the first intergenerational planned community in which seniors commit to neighboring as a way to provide support to families seeking to adopt children out of foster care. "Brenda Eheart's intentional, intergenerational communities unleash the power that can only be found when we truly respect and engage people of all ages and abilities," our Executive Director Donna Butts explained in her blurb for the book. "Now more than ever, the capacity neighbors have to heal and unite us may be our nation's most valuable social commodity." Learn more.
Think Intergenerational - Funding Opportunities
Classics for Kids Foundation. The mission of the Classics for Kids Foundation is to empower young people to shape positive futures through music, build sustainable stringed instrument music programs, and provide grants for high quality instruments. The Foundation is offering matching grants to K-12 schools and nonprofit organizations throughout the United States to help purchase stringed instruments. Grants will not exceed 50% of total instrument cost. Requests are reviewed quarterly; the upcoming application deadline is December 31, 2020. Learn more.

Youth Service America. To celebrate Lights On Afterschool last week, YSA announced that applications are now open for our Afterschool Grants for this school year. With support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, YSA will award Afterschool Grants of up to $500 each to support youth-led service or service-learning in afterschool programs. Activities can take place any time between mid-December and the end of the 2020-2021 school year. Programs can apply through Dec. 4. 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.

America Walks: Community Change Grant. The program awards grants of up to $1,500 to provide support to the growing network of advocates, organizations, and agencies using innovative, engaging, and inclusive programs and projects to create change at the community level. Projects should create healthy, active, and engaged communities that support walking as transportation, health, and recreation. Of particular interest are projects that center the concerns of minority residents, reach across the demographics of communities to build coalitions, or create unique civic partnerships with new perspectives. The application deadline is November 9, 2020. Learn more.

RRF Foundation for Aging. RRF Foundation for Aging (formerly The Retirement Research Foundation) is accepting proposal applications for its next grant cycle. During the last 42 years, RRF has awarded nearly 5,000 grants worth almost $250 million—all dedicated to improving the quality of life of older people. RRF recently completed a strategic planning process that sharpened this commitment and focused its grantmaking on four priority areas: Caregiving; Economic Security in Later Life; Housing; Social and Intergenerational Connectedness. LOIs should be submitted online by Dec. 1, 2020 for the February 1st proposal deadline. Learn more

The Children's Bureau. The Children’s Bureau has announced forecasts for two federal funding opportunities to help local jurisdictions better support kinship families:
  • Family Connection Grants: Building the Evidence for Kinship Navigator Programs : HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-CF-1903 
  • Improving Child Welfare Through Kinship Supports and Foster Care as Service to Families: HHS-2021-ACF-ACYF-CW-1921 

Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Resident Opportunity and Self-Sufficiency (ROSS) Grant Program seeks to assist residents of public and Indian housing in making progress towards economic and housing self-sufficiency by removing the educational, professional, and health barriers they face. This program provides support to hire a Service Coordinator who assesses the needs of housing residents and links them to training and supportive services that will enable participants to move along the self-sufficiency continuum. In the case of elderly residents or residents with disabilities, the Service Coordinator links them to supportive services which enable them to age or remain in place. Deadline: Nov. 19, 2020. Learn more.

If you have—or know of—any intergenerational funding opportunities, please send them to gu@gu.org.
Think Intergenerational - Great Resources
Research & Resources
Factsheet: 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 of the 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
LiveOn NY Webinar- Intergenerational Programming: A Transformative Approach to Building Vibrant, Cohesive Communities. Speaker: Dr. Nancy Henkin, Senior Fellow, Generations United. Description: Found to be one of the most impactful programs, Intergenerational Programming fosters deeper awareness of aging, social connection, and an increased self-worth and belonging for participants of all ages. Learn about various operating intergenerational programs, as well as tips and best practices from the experts on how to begin or improve intergenerational programming more fully into center activities. CE Credit available. Wednesday, Nov. 18th,11:00am—12:30pm, EDT. Learn more and register.

TimeSlips Creative Care Fall Festival 2020: Celebrating Virtual Connections During Quarantine.
This Fall, join TimeSlips once a week from October 29 to November 19 as they invite their community to share all that they have accomplished these past few months in creating innovate ways to creatively engage elders. You will hear from artists-in-residence in Wisconsin, students and elders in Durham, North Carolina, community members in Detroit, and artists in Milwaukee. Learn more and register.
Amazon donates to Generations United when you shop AmazonSmile
When you shop at AmazonSmile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the purchase prize to Generations United.

“Be the person you needed when you were younger.”—Ayesha Siddiqi, editor in chief of The New Inquiry
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.