Volume 18 | Issue 23 | June 7, 2023

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

DreamCatchers empowers students and their local communities to fulfill end-of-life dreams of hospice patients and creates powerful connections for younger and older generations. The mission of DreamCatchers, a Generations United Program of Merit, is centered around creating strong intergenerational connections, with the goal of destigmatizing hospice, death and dying. High school and college student-run chapters partner with local hospices in their communities to grant dreams for their patients, in the form of a memorable experience or event. Past dreams include family reunions, birthday parties, car shows, boat rides, helicopter rides, and more! We have chapters in more than fifteen states across the United States, and recently formed a chapter in Seoul, South Korea. Our student chapters partner with local hospices, creating opportunities to spread joy, connect with patients, and inspire their communities. Our impact spreads not only to the hospice patient themselves, but their family, friends and other volunteers who are involved in dreams. Learn more.

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.

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 June 22, 2023. Learn more.

Administration for Community Living: Advancing Aging Network Capacity to Recognize and Support Family, Kinship and Tribal Caregivers. Using the 2022 National Strategy to Support Family Caregivers (the Strategy) as a road map, ACL will fund up to five (5) new cooperative agreements to eligible entities to work on a national level to further advance the development of state, community and tribal family caregiver support programs funded under the National Family Caregiver Support Program (NFCSP), Title III-E and VI-C of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as amended. This new initiative is intended to advance NFCSP/NACSP development to more closely align it with the principles and concepts contained in the Strategy, thus better positioning the program to more effectively recognize, assist, include, support, and engage family caregivers and better meet the challenges and opportunities associated with supporting them. Closing date for applications is June 25, 2023. Learn more.

ECMC Foundation's mission is to improve higher education for career success among underserved populations in the United States through evidence-based innovation. Support is provided for efforts that fit within the Foundation’s strategic priorities: 1) removing barriers to post-secondary completion, including programs that directly support learner success; 2) building the capacity of higher education organizations, institutions, and systems to improve outcomes for learners and evolve to meet changing needs; and 3) transforming the post-secondary ecosystem, including large-scale, cross-sector collaborations in service of more equitable outcomes. The Foundation makes grants and investments through an open letter of inquiry process for projects connected to one or more of the strategic priorities. Nonprofit organizations, government entities, and post-secondary institutions and systems are eligible to apply. Application deadline: None for letters of inquiry. Learn more.

National Alliance for Children's Grief - Grief Reach Grants is a dedicated grant opportunity supporting childhood bereavement services in the United States. Any organization that currently serves young people who have experienced a death of a loved one are invited to apply for this competitive grant opportunity to enhance access to and increase grief support for youth and their families. This competitive funding opportunity has four goals: to increase access to bereavement support services in local communities, especially diverse communities; to enhance the capacity of organizations providing bereavement support service; to expand bereavement support services to address unmet needs; and to support communities dealing with grief and loss with tangible resources. This funding opportunity is offered twice a year. Cycle 2 of 2023 will focus on the area of Community Expansion. The cycle will open for application on June 1, 2023, with grants awarded in September 2023. Learn more.

If you have—or know of—any intergenerational funding opportunities, please send them to gu@gu.org.

"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.

"The most useful thought we can hold... is that we are not members of different generations... We are all so close to each other in time that we should think of ourselves as brothers and sisters."

Kurt Vonnegut, an American writer and humorist known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels.

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 gu@gu.org. We'd love to hear from you!