Volume 18 | Issue 15 | April 12, 2023

News for Advocates of Children, Youth, and Older Adults from Generations United

The Charles City AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program offers senior citizens aged 55 and older opportunities to serve as mentors, tutors, and caregivers to help children meet their developmental and educational needs. The mission of the Foster Grandparent Program, a Generations United Program of Distinction, is to bring together an older adult and a young child in specific ways that help each to grow in giving, caring, and learning. Currently, 80 seniors volunteer in the program, working primarily with children in daycare and grade school at 22 sites, and giving back 65,722 hours of service to our local children. They help children meet their developmental and educational needs in reading, spelling, mathematics, writing, and social skills, while allowing senior citizens to enhance their self-esteem and remain physically and mentally active through participation in needed community service. The Charles City AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program brings these two groups together, building bridges between generations with love. Learn more about the Foster Grandparent Program here.

Photo courtesy of Charles City AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent Program

Each week, Generations United is spotlighting a recipient of our Intergenerational Program Certification. The certification is an annual recognition of outstanding programs bringing older and younger participants together and is based on rigorous standards of program effectiveness and sustainability. Learn more about the Intergenerational Program Certification here.

J.M. Kaplan Fund: J.M.K. Innovation Prize seeks to identify, support, and elevate innovators who are spearheading transformative, early-stage projects in the fields of the environment, heritage conservation, and social justice. In 2023, up to ten Prizes will be awarded, each including unrestricted funding of $150,000 over three years, plus $25,000 in technical assistance funds, for a total award of $175,000. Awardees also receive guidance through the Fund and its resource network, accessing tools and a community of support to help turn their innovative ideas into life-changing social impacts. The first-round application deadline is April 28, 2023. Learn more.

Administration for Community Living Lifespan Respite Care Program: State Program Enhancement Grants. Applicants to this funding opportunity will propose approaches grounded in the principles and actions of the strategy to make advancements in and strengthen their Lifespan Respite Care systems. Grantees will be expected to build on previous efforts to improve equitable access, consistency, quality, and sustainability and reduce duplication in respite service delivery. Additionally, grantees will be expected to provide respite services, continue building collaborations and partnerships across the state, expand options for volunteers, ensure adequate respite provider training is offered, identify gaps in current services and conduct outreach to reduce those gaps, and continue to, or increase, efforts to target underserved populations across the lifespan. Due date for applications: Monday, May 15, 2023, 11:59 PM ET. Learn more.

Administration for Community Living Lifespan Respite Care Program: Grants to New States and States Re-Establishing Their Core Respite Infrastructures. Applicants to this funding opportunity will propose approaches to, at a minimum, establish or re-establish state and local coordinated Lifespan Respite Care systems to serve family caregivers regardless of the age, disability, or chronic condition of the care recipient. Applicants will also be expected to propose how they will develop or expand new and emergency respite services and provide such services; train and recruit respite workers, including volunteers; and assist caregivers in gaining access to respite care services that meet the needs of both the caregiver and care recipient. Due date for applications: Monday, May 15, 2023, 11:59 PM ET. Learn more.

The MIT AgeLab’s Opportunities for Multigenerational Exchange, Growth and Action (OMEGA) initiative is proud to offer five scholarships to recognize the efforts that teens are making to create multigenerational connections. Each award will include a $5000 college scholarship to the winning student and $1000 to the winning student’s intergenerational initiative to support its activities. High school juniors and seniors in the U.S. are eligible to apply. Applications are due May 31, 2023. Learn more.

The Brookdale Foundation Group Relatives as Parents Program (RAPP) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the creation or expansion of supportive services to grandparents and other relatives raising children. A seed grant of $30,000 ($20,000 in year one and $10,000 tier two, contingent upon progress made during year one and potential for continuity in the future) is available to non-profit organizations across the United States. On-going technical assistance will be provided. Proposals are due on Thursday, June 22, 2023. Learn more.

If you have—or know of—any intergenerational funding opportunities, please send them to [email protected].

Journal of Intergenerational Relationships Call for Papers for Memorial Issue Honoring Founding Editor Dr. Sally Newman’s Contributions to the Intergenerational Field: Dr. Sally Newman was a guiding force for founding the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships in 2003, serving as its first editor until June 2014. Despite her death in 2022, Dr. Newman’s legacy lives on. In honor of Dr. Newman’s leadership in intergenerational program research, the Journal of Intergenerational Relationships invites scholarly contributions for a special issue focused on contemporary intergenerational research that builds on her foundational work, which can be seen today in different programmatic settings and countries. This special memorial issue will be published in 2024. Submissions must be received by May 31, 2023. Read the full special issue announcement here. Contact Shannon Jarrott with questions.

"Intergenerational Community Planning" Report: Generations United Senior Fellow Irv Katz and Generations United friend and Penn State professor Matt Kaplan, PhD, collaborated on a "guide" to intergenerational community planning published by the American Planning Association (APA). The intergenerational planning guide follows related APA reports on multigenerational planning and planning for all ages. The document suggests that the well-being of children, youth, and older adults--and how they relate with one another--should be integrated into regular city planning processes, such as the comprehensive planning that most cities and towns undertake. "Intergenerational Community Planning" is available for free to members of the American Planning Association and $25 for non-members.

"It also has our older generation come in and feel young again and volunteer and we love that. Anyone who is having a bad day, they could just go and watch this [intergenerational yoga] class and their day would turn around."

Kelly Monson, Vice President of Child Development & Learning for YMCA of the North.

We want Generations This Week to be a resource for you. Please send us any national news on intergenerational issues in addition to upcoming conferences, funding opportunities, research, reports, and webinars. You can connect with other intergenerational enthusiasts through our Facebook group. Please also let us know how we can improve! Email us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!