2011 New Age of Age Mini-Grant Recipients

As part of the New Age of Aging initiative’s mini-grant program, a total of $66,000 was awarded to 22 members of the Alliance for Children and Families in 2011.

Each organization received a $3,000 award, which is designed to increase their involvement in providing quality programs and services to older adults. Organizations need not have experience providing programs and services to older adults to apply.

Agape Community Center

Milwaukee, WI

Project: Intergenerational Technology

Agape’s Intergenerational program will provide computer and internet access to older adults and bring older adults, teens, and young adults together for an intergenerational project. This initiative will involve the creation of an intergenerational blog that will focus on community issues of mutual concern to both generations, as well as identify available community resources for addressing those issues.

Two important elements of the project will be the incorporation of civic engagement strategies and the development and implementation of a process that utilizes social media.

Expected Outcomes: Agape will appoint an intergenerational coordinator to establish the Agape Blog Club (ABC) with 12-16 participants, including six to eight older adults and six to eight teens or young adults. These participants will initiate an intergenerational blog.

The project will allow older adults to have access to computers and internet access, while also enhancing their computer skills. Both older adults and teens and young adults will benefit from working in an intergenerational setting. 

Children's Foundation of Mid-America

St. Louis, MO

Project: Meeting the Needs of Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Children’s Foundation of Mid-America (CFMA) will determine the number of grandparents raising grandchildren within the organization's foster care program. Staff will develop and conduct a needs assessment survey for this population. After the data is analyzed, CFMA will begin plans to address their needs and provide support services.

Expected Outcomes: One hundred percent of the grandparents in the CFMA foster care program that are raising their grandchildren will be identified. Of this group, 95 percent will complete the needs assessment survey and will begin receiving the support services. 

Children's Home Association of Illinois

Peoria, IL

Project: Learning and Serving Together

Children’s Home Association of Illinois will recruit, retain, and build capacity for engaging baby boomers in service. To accomplish this, the organization will establish partnerships with civic organizations that serve older adults and baby boomers. This will expand the organization's knowledge of and programming related to the field of aging.

A four-session civic engagement series using popular film will provide opportunities for at-risk youth and older adults to engage in open dialogue and participate in community service projects together.

Expected Outcomes: During the six-month project period, Children’s Home Association of Illinois will organize and implement a four-session civic engagement series entitled “Food 4 Thought.” The series will be designed for at-risk youth and older adult community volunteers. A total of 50 individuals per session will be reached. This group will conduct three or four service projects.

The long-term goal will be to retain 10 percent of the older adults and baby boomers who participate in the civic engagement series as regular volunteers.

Cornerstone of Care

Kansas City, MO

Project: Operation Green Thumbs

Operation Green Thumbs is a garden collaboration between the youth of Gillis Center, a division of Cornerstones of Care, and Armour Oaks Senior Living Community. Youth and older adults will collaborate to build a raised garden, an economical greenhouse, and an indoor grow center.

Activities will include soil preparation and caring for the garden. Produce grown in the garden will be shared between both organizations.

Expected Outcomes: Youth and older adults will plan, design, build, and nurture an indoor garden, an outdoor garden, and a greenhouse. Twenty or more residents of Armour Oaks Senior Living Community will be engaged in some aspect of Operation Green Thumbs. Vegetables grown in the garden will be served at meals offered in the dining rooms of both agencies. Program participants also will learn the process of canning tomatoes and pickles. 

Family and Children's Services

Elizabeth, NJ

Project: Increase Staff and Program Capacity to Serve Older Adults

The purpose of Family and Children’s Services’ project is to expand the agency’s competency and capacity to deliver quality social services to older adults.

To accomplish this, staff members will increase their knowledge in the field of aging, incorporate this knowledge in the agency’s ongoing planning efforts, and expand services to older members of the community.

Expected Outcomes: Family and Children’s Services will support three staff members in completing 50-75 percent of the Basic Certificate Program in Gerontology through Rutgers University’s School of Social Work’s Continuing Education Program. Following this training, they will disseminate the information they learned by developing and presenting one in-service session to other staff members.

Family Centers

Greenwich, CT

Project: Healthy Hearts Outreach Program for Low-Income Aging Adults

Family Centers will provide a comprehensive health program, Healthy Hearts, to older adult residents of Charter Oak Communities, a public housing facility.

This program is a nonmedical, wellness, and prevention approach that assists residents with making healthy lifestyle changes.

Expected Outcomes: Healthy Hearts will conduct a pre- and post-test of participating older adults. The results will show that 95 percent of participants understand the importance of healthy eating and 85 percent understand the benefits of physical exercise. Participants' choice of foods that are more nutritious, their physical activities, and their overall involvement will be monitored.

Family Service of the Piedmont

Jamestown, NC

Project: Senior Wellness

The Senior Wellness project will improve family functioning and provide a safe, healthy environment for older adults. The project will provide health and wellness education for residents ages 65 and older.

Educational workshops will be developed and presented in area housing developments and community centers. Workshop topics will include cooking, budgeting, nutrition, and self-care skills.

Expected Outcomes: To measure the effectiveness of the workshops, the organization has established a goal that 75 percent of training participants will:

• Develop a monthly food budget
• Identify two behaviors which encourage emotional or physical well-being
• Identify one new activity for exercise or personal development
• Increase awareness about how fear of falling could increase isolative behaviors
• Increase recognition of fall hazards in their home and community
• Complete a home safety checklist
• Increase knowledge about safe exercises

Family Services

Winston-Salem, NC

Project: Reassurance Program

Family Services will expand the capacity of its Reassurance Program, which currently provides services to 35 isolated and homebound older adults.

Family Services will increase the number of trained volunteers, market the program, and support staff in completing obtaining a Certificate in Aging.

Expected Outcomes: Family Services will add 10 additional volunteers to the Reassurance Program and will add 10 new referral sources. One staff person will earn a Certificate in Aging. Also, the curriculum that is used to train new volunteers will be revised. Lastly, the organization expects to increase the number of older adults served by 50 percent. 

FamilyMeans

Stillwater, MN

Project: Age and Disabilities Odyssey

FamilyMeans will support four professional staff members to attend the two-day 2011 Minnesota Age and Disabilities Odyssey conference. Upon their return, attendees will plan and present educational programs to 100 respite volunteers.

Expected Outcomes: Four caregiver support professional staff will receive intensive training in aging services. These staff members will, in turn, convey the information learned to 100 respite volunteer coordinators. When surveyed, 80 percent of the trained caregivers will report improvement in their ability to provide care.

Hamilton-Madison House

New York, NY

Project: Hanmadang Family Project

The primary goal of Hamilton-Madison House’s Hanmadang Family Project is to increase the quality of life for Korean older adults. Another goal is to strengthen Korean American family relationships.

The project will consist of developing traditional Korean activities that older adults and their families can participate in together. Through this project, the adult children of Korean older adults will gain a greater understanding of Korean traditions and culture.

Expected Outcome: Hamilton-Madison House anticipates that a minimum 120 caregivers and care recipients will participate in calligraphy, photography, and Korean painting classes. They will develop at least one hobby.

Families will increase to at least 30 minutes the amount of time they spend interacting between the different generations each week. Individual interviews will confirm that Korean older adults have experience a decreased level of stress and depression.

Hillside Family of Agencies

Rochester NY

Project: Skip Generations Program

Crestwood Children’s Center, an affiliate of Hillside Family of Agencies, will supplement its Skip Generations Mentoring Program by providing group training to grandparent mentors. This training would be based on a curriculum developed by Cornell University.

The program is a professional development course that provides front line workers, such as grandparent mentors, with the skills and competencies essential to help families achieve healthy self-reliance and interdependence with their communities.

Expected Outcomes: The organization will provide six training sessions for grandparent mentors. This will strengthen grandparent mentors' understanding of their role, enhance their mentoring skills, increase their confidence, and allow them to advocate for themselves and the children in their care. A pre- and post-training questionnaire, as well as a customer satisfaction survey will demonstrate a 75 percent increase in participants' understanding of the curriculum's core concepts, as well as level of comfort with the required skills.

Jewish Family Service

Teaneck, NJ

Project: Workshops Promoting Health and Safety

Jewish Family Service's project will provide health related workshops to clients within a naturally occurring retirement community (NORC). The workshops will provide information about how to access to timely information on the internet, support aging in place, maximize older adults' independence, and improve older adults' quality of life.

Expected Outcomes: Jewish Family Service will conduct four free workshops to residents of the Teaneck NORC community, a residential community of approximately 250 older adults. The proposed workshops will include sessions about preventing identity theft, the importance of laughter and wellness, being physically and emotionally healthy, and medical and legal planning. Participants will complete an evaluation that will demonstrate they increased their knowledge base, improved their outlook for future, and strengthened their social connections. 

One Hope United

Chicago, IL

Project: Grandparent to Grandparent

One Hope United will provide support groups to grandparents raising grandchildren. Support groups will include at least 40 members from a three-county area.

The organization also will develop a curriculum and implement training based on evidenced-based models. The training will address topics such as discipline at home and helping children succeed in school.

Expected Outcomes: After organizing support groups, One Hope United will develop and present a curriculum to grandparents raising grandchildren. As a way of maintaining information for future reference, each attendee will receive a resource binder. One hundred percent of grandparents served will demonstrate improvement in social connections, in understanding the available community resources, in implementing healthy coping skills, and in strengthening their self-esteem.

Peninsula Family Service

San Mateo, CA

Project: Evaluation of the Sequoia Hospital Homecoming Program

Peninsula Family Service will conduct an evaluation of the Sequoia Hospital Homecoming Project, a collaboration between several nonprofit agencies, which provides an effective hospital to home transition program for adults age 55 and over.

Hospital discharge staff will identify persons who are at high risk for readmission and are without home support.

Expected Outcomes: Peninsula Family Service, in consultation with an outside evaluation firm, will develop a model to identify goals and outcomes. This model will be successfully implemented and sustained. The result will be greater involvement in the project from the collaborative partners, a measurement of the project's impact, reduced medical costs and readmissions, and enhanced promotion of long-term health and well-being for older adults.

Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service

Scarsdale, NY

Project: From Generation to Generation

Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service will initiate an intergenerational project called From Generation to Generation. It is intended to reduce social isolation among older adults, as well as diminish stereotypes of aging. Youth ages 12-16 years old will visit with older adults through a series of social and educational events.

Expected Outcomes: The Scarsdale Edgemont Family Counseling Service will reduce stereotypical thinking about aging among participating youth. This will be measured by using a pre- and post-survey about attitudes.

Within the older adult population, a decrease in social isolation will be observed. Older adults also will report that they felt they made a meaningful connection with youth.

The project will be replicated in at least one other school district. Older adult participants will plan for future intergenerational events and form an intergenerational advisory council. 

Secret Harbor

Burlington, WA

Project: Fall Prevention Awareness Network

To increase fall prevention awareness, Secret Harbor will develop a fall prevention awareness presentation. The presentation will be offered throughout the multicounty service area to local service clubs, community organizations, older adult care facilities, and other locations where older adults gather.

Through this endeavor, the organization plans to initiate a Fall Prevention Awareness Network in partnership with area emergency medical services, care centers, and other organizations that serve older adults.

Expected Outcomes: The fall prevention curriculum and associated resources will be developed and six to eight presentations will be held at various locations. An initial meeting of parties interested in a Fall Prevention Awareness Network will be held, and both the disseminating of information and the permanent network partnership will be sustained on an ongoing basis.

Social Development Commission

Milwaukee, WI

Project: Benefits Enrollment Assistance

The Social Development Commission's (SDC) Benefits Enrollment Assistance project is designed for older adults ages 60 and older. The project will serve older adults with limited income and resources.

The project will establish screening procedures for older adults and will assist them with enrolling in benefit programs for which they are eligible. These benefits include federal, state, and county programs.

SDC will engage a student intern who will receive legal training. The intern will meet with 90 volunteers who visit older adults and 295 home-bound older adults.

Expected Outcomes: SDC will temporarily hire a student to assist staff in educating 385 seniors age 60 and older about their benefit options. Seventy-five percent of those educated will be screened to determine which benefits they are eligible for, and 75 percent of those screened will receive at least one benefit for which they are eligible. 

Spectrum Human Services

Westland, MI

Project: Engaging Mature Adults through Internships

The purpose of this project is to provide internships for baby boomers and other older adults who are seek to apply their talents in new settings. Internships will involve projects that improve the lives of older adults.

Expected Outcomes: Written guidelines for internships will be developed with input from aging services providers in greater Detroit area, as well as from potential interns. Intern opportunities will be sought out in cooperation with TechTown, an area business incubator committed to nurturing entrepreneurship among older adults. Ten older adults will be placed in internships, with 75 percent of them rating their internship experience as a positive vehicle for moving them to the next step in their career.

St. Aemilian-Lakeside

Milwaukee, WI

Project: Trauma Informed Care Training for Grandparents

The purpose of St. Aemilian-Lakeside's project is to provide trauma informed care trainings to grandparents who are raising their grandchildren and are involved with ongoing case management.

The project will help grandparents better understand the philosophy of trauma informed care and brain development. This will give grandparents better skills to intervene and advocate on behalf of their grandchildren.

Expected Outcomes: Each participant will attend three trauma informed care trainings over six months. Participants will complete evaluations of the trainings. Their evaluations will demonstrate that grandparents who are caregivers have greater comfort in utilizing trauma-sensitive interventions with their grandchildren. They also will report having a better understand of their own caregiver capacity related to vicarious trauma and its effect on their caregiving ability.

Trillium Family Solutions

Canton, OH

Project: Elder Abuse Prevention Community Forum

Trillium Family Solutions’ Elder Abuse Prevention Community Forum will educate community professionals who work with older adults, caregivers of older adults, and older adults themselves about the issue of elder abuse and the services available to remedy and prevent it.

Expected Outcomes: At least 30 community professionals and 100 caregivers or older adults will attend the Elder Abuse Prevention Community Forum. They will receive information about current services that are available to prevent and remedy elder abuse. Knowledge gained from the session will be measured by written program evaluations.

YWCA of Oahu

Honolulu, HI

Project: Power Tools for Oahu Caregivers

In collaboration with Alliance member Child and Family Service in Ewa Beach, Hawaii, YWCA of Oahu will take the first step toward meeting the needs of families dealing with issues pertaining to aging. Specifically, the organizations seek to provide caregiver training for middle-aged working women.

The content of the training will be “Powerful Tools for Caregivers,” an award-winning program developed by Legacy Caregiver Services in Oregon. During six weekly classes, caregivers will develop a wealth of self-care tools and receive a copy of the curriculum's handbook.

Expected Outcomes: YWCA of Oahu and Child and Family Service will develop a coordinated action plan for implementing “Powerful Tools for Caregivers” twice annually.

Fifteen women will increase their preparedness in handling the emotional, financial, and tactical challenges of caring for older adult family members. Written feedback forms at the end of trainings will document their learning.

As a long-term outcome, the two agencies will continue to collaborate to address various aspects of caregiver training.

Youth Alternatives Ingraham

South Portland, ME

Project: Arts in August

Arts in August is a pilot intergenerational arts program that links Youth Alternatives Ingraham with another nonprofit, Community Partnerships for Protecting Children. The goal of the partnership is to solidify a community approach to keeping children safe and families strong.

This project will provide older adults with the opportunity to share their stories, life experiences, creativity, and wisdom with children who are 3 to 6 years old. Older adults and children will work together to create art projects during four weekly sessions.

Because of this project, the organization will launch future programming that incorporates older adults and creative expression as a mode of enhancing quality of life through lifelong learning.

Expected Outcomes: Youth Alternatives Ingraham will offer a new program for older adults that complements the organization’s collaborative relationship with Community Partnerships for Protecting Children. Older adults will learn new skills in communication, the visual arts, and movement. At the same time, they will build new relationships with children. Progress will be measured anecdotally, through the artwork created, and through a closing evaluation.

Contact the New Age of Aging staff with questions.