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KID PAN ALLEY Kid Pan Alley uses the group songwriting process to inspire children to be creators of their own music and not just consumers of popular culture. The Charlottesville, VA area is home to a prototype intergenerational program which serves as a model for the rest of the country. Seniors talk about their own experiences growing up and living in the community. Youth write songs based on the oral histories that they hear and seniors then write their own songs based on what they hear from the children. Then, both perform at a community concert. INTERGENERATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS Community Celebration of Place worked with youth ages 10-14 at four Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board park centers to raise awareness about environmental health issues. At each site, the youth were coached to conduct an hour-long interview with an elder environmental health leader/advocate. The interviews were turned into a song written and performed by the students at a community celebration. The students also developed and implemented environmental health action projects based on the recommendations of the older adults. Presidential Environmental Youth Award Winners: This annual program is aimed at encouraging individuals, school classes, summer camps, youth organizations and public interest groups to promote environmental awareness and encourage positive community involvement. Recipients from each federal region include projects such as: curbside electronics recyling, water quality monitoring, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide generated by schools, getting lead out of the fishing waters, and promoting environmental awareness. BEDSIDEBOOKS More than 200 student
volunteers in 16 states have collected and distributed 44,000
books to needy members of the community, including nursing homes
residents, and to public schools in need of classroom libraries.
Reusing these books has spared 150 trees, saved more that 60,000
gallons of water that would have used to produce paper, and
prevented more than 50,000 pounds of air pollution. Yellowstone National Park's Cross-Cultural Exchange Program This program was created to help address the need for Indian youth become familiar with terrain and biodiversity. Tribal youth visit Yellowstone and explore with science teachers the natural landscape, while exploring with tribal elders the cultural heritage of their ancestors. Crow elders teach the youth about plants growing in the area and customary uses of the plants. http://www.ypf.org/pdfs/20.pdf Neighbors Growing Together This program of Virginia Tech strives to improve the lives of people across the lifespan through intergenerational collaboration involving teaching, research, and outreach. Partners include Virginia Tech Adult Day Services, Child Development Center for Learning and Research and Blacksburg Middle School. A recent news article describes intergenerational programming. Curriculum for a variety of activities is available on the website. http://www.intergenerational.clahs.vt.edu/neighbors/affiliates.html; http://www.roanoke.com/news/nrv/vtnews/wb/171870 Kinship Care Bill Passes Congress On September 22 the United States Senate unanimously passed the "Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008," sending the bill to the President for his signature. The bill is bi-partisan compromise between the House and Senate that includes many of the provisions of the Kinship Caregiver Support Act. It is a significant recognition of the contributions that grandparents and other relatives make in raising the nation's children. Older Volunteers Enrich America AwardsN4a has announced the recipients of the 2008 MetLife Foundation Older Volunteers Enrich America Awards. These awards honor the exemplary contributions of older volunteers in three categories: Community Champion for older volunteers who make their communities a better place to live; Mentor for older volunteers who work with young people and their families; and Team Spirit for older volunteers who help other older adults. http://www.n4a.org/pdf/OVEA_Awards_2008.pdf N4a Aging and Innovations and Achievement Awards The n4a Aging Innovations and Achievement Awards recognize n4a members and showcases innovative and successful aging programs that serve older adults and caregivers in communities across the country. Some of the awardees include: Area Agency on Aging Palm Beach/Treasure Coast, Inc./Palm Beach, FL for Leadership Institute for Active Aging Hispanics (a community-based program that promotes civic engagement for older Hispanic volunteers) Area Agency on Aging Region One, Inc./Phoenix, AZ for the Mosaic Elder Refugee Program (a culturally and linguistically competent program that provides socialization and outreach to older refugees) Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services/Mount Vernon, NY for the Livable Communities Project (a community-based project that determines the assets of a community and encourages community designs that enable aging in place) Milwaukee County Department on Aging/Milwaukee WI for Connecting Caring Communities (a community-based program that connects older adults with neighbors, community organizations and businesses, and provides information on long-term care resources) www.n4a.org/news-room/?fa=view-article&id=205 LA
Crosse Wisconsin
Creating Friendly Communities for all Ages www.sustainablelacrosse.comNGA REPORT DETAILS STRATEGIES FOR INCREASING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices has released a new Issue Brief on state strategies, which describes the personal and community benefits volunteering can bring and details some of the challenges that often confront older adult volunteers. It highlights a number of ongoing state programs that help connect older adults to rewarding volunteer experiences. The brief is part of the Center for Best Practices’ Civic Engagement: Engaging Seniors in Volunteering and Employment project, funded by Atlantic Philanthropies.
www.nga.org/files/pdf/ I nteractive Website on VolunteeringThe Corporation for National and Community Service has a new website: Welcome to the Volunteering in . Through this Web site, you can access information about volunteering trends and statistics, tools, resources, and information for the nation, regions, states, and major cities. NACO HONORS COUNTY VOLUNTEER PROGRAMS THAT ENHANCE QUALITY OF LIFE The National Association of Counties Acts has announced seventeen winners of the 2008 Acts of Caring Awards. The winner of the Youth Service Award is the San Mateo, CA Youth Commission, which identifies problems facing youth and seizes opportunities for youth and adults to improve the entire community. Union County won an Elderly Services Award for the Westlake Junior Runnels Program, which facilitates interaction between students with disabilities and residents of a long term care facility.
http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Acts_of_Caring_Awards&Template=/cffiles/awards/ SILVERPRINT COLORADO A partnership of residents and private, public and non-profit organizations is dedicated to establishing a statewide culture of positive aging and making Colorado a great place for people of all ages and abilities to live, work and play. The 5 top focus areas are: coordinated long-term care; transportation; professional training and public awareness; health/wellness; and civic engagement, volunteerism & employment. GU INTERGENERATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST The 2008 winners of this contest, sponsored by MetLife, range in age from 16 to 92. SENIORS4KIDS WEBSITE: This site offers a wealth of information on older adults’ involvement in promoting high-quality, universal pre-kindergarten and highlights a new report on African American Pre-K Children and Families in Kentucky.
www.seniors4kids.org
http://www.seniors4kids.org/images/ARticles/Seniors4Kids ENSURING FINANCIAL SUCCESS OF YOUTH GU has launched an
interactive website which provides grandparents and older adults
easy-to-use tools that engage young people in making sound
financial decision. The site, “Enhancing Your Retirement:
Helping Ensure the Financial Success of Children and Youth,” is
a partnership with the National Endowment for Financial
Education with support from CITI. Community Exchange AARP’s Community Exchange is designed as a virtual community about communities. The site offers forums for discussions about many aspects of community life. While on Community Exchange, users can also rate their communities and learn what other people around the country are doing to promote successful aging. Using the site, all can become “neighbors”, unrestricted by the boundaries of geography, visiting with each other virtually, engaging on issues of shared interest. http://www.aarp.org/community/groups/groupProfilePage.jsp?group=CommunityExchange
WorldChanging OLDER "ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST" INITIATIVES GREEN SENIORS This organization was created to allow people of all ages to work together in large and small groups to make the planet a better place for everyone and everything in the future. The website is a place to find information, join networks, build communities and make a difference. The co-founder and main contributor also passes on her words of wisdom as “green granny.” www.greenseniors.org ; www.greengranny.org GRAY IS GREEN Residents of Whitney Center, a retirement home in Hamden, CT, are seeking to repair the damage from exploitation of the earth’s limited resources by their generation – and to leave the world a more habitable and greener place for their children and grandchildren. The website provides a variety of information, “greentips” and links. YOUTH INITIATIVES INVOLVING YOUNG PEOPLE IN COMMUNITY CHANGE AND THE POLITICAL PROCESS ServiceVote 2008 challenges young people across the country to address issues they care about by developing an action plan that includes community engagement, policy development and electoral participation. Included on the website are background on a number of issues (such as: environment and climate change; seniors, aging & retirement; healthcare; and public safety) and a tip sheet on “100 Ways to Make a Difference in Your Community.” Youth Action on Climate Change The Energy Action Coalition is a group of more than 40 organizations from across the U.S. and Canada, founded and led by youth to help support and strengthen the youth clean energy movement, and drive change to stop global warming. The associated Campus Climate Challenge campaign is leveraging the organizing power of college and high school students to reduce pollution and win 100% clean energy polices at their schools. www.energyaction.net; www.climatechallenge.org NO CHILD LEFT INSIDE The No Child Left Inside Coalition is a broad-based organization made up of more than 200 member groups from across the United States, and includes environmental, educational, business, public health, outdoor recreation and conservation groups. The NCLI Coalition speaks for a diverse group of Americans who believe that we must better prepare young people to understand and overcome major environmental challenges.
www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_sub_actioncenter_ TRAINING YOUNG ADULTS IN CONSERVATION PRACTICES EarthCorps builds global community by bringing together young people from across the US and around the world to restore habitats and volunteer for environmental service projects. Each year, more than 10,000 volunteers and over 100 partner organizations collaborate with EarthCorps on environmental service projects. YOUTH COUNT E-CYCLING PROGRAM This intergenerational recycling business in Arizona was built around a partnership with retired baby boomers working with teens to run a business and to help the community by keeping landfills clean from toxic wastes. Youth Count received a national Green Flag Award for Environmental Leadership from the Center for Health, Environment and Justice for their survey of environmental hazards around places where older adults live and meet; intergenerational classes on the environment; and the e-cycling business.
YPAN Youthscape is National League of Cities home on the web for youth leaders of cities, where young people from all around the county meet up and speak up.
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