Success Stories: The Cambria County Intergenerational Unity Forum –
Bringing Local Agencies together to Build A County for All Ages

In early 2006, Cambria County Commissioner Milan Gjurich asked Penn State Extension Educator Allan Bassler to work with county Grants Administrator Barb Leap to bring together the county’s older and younger residents. The goal, Commissioner Gjurich said, was to get the two groups working together to resolve some of the county’s challenges – and perhaps find some sources of grant money along the way.

Bassler called on Penn State Professor Matthew Kaplan, an expert in Intergenerational issues, for help. Bassler, Leap and Kaplan organized two Intergenerational Unity Forums, each with a diverse group of human and social service agency representatives.
The Forum is a unique planning process developed by Penn State Cooperative Extension to help communities plan intergenerational programs that will help meet the needs of young people and older adults, improve relationships between the generations, and promote civic engagement around issues of common concern.

At the first Forum in March, 2006, seventeen agencies from around the county were represented, and at the second event, held three months later, 20 agencies were represented.

The Forums began with open discussion about the problems and challenges facing Cambria County. Next, participants were provided with diverse examples of intergenerational programs and practices found in communities from across the globe.
After learning about the many possibilities for bringing young people and older adults together for mutual benefit, and in ways that strengthen local communities, Forum participants focused on exploring ideas for intergenerational programs that could help address problems and enhance the quality of life in Cambria County.

By the second Forum meeting, after identifying nine main problems and challenges facing the county, participants narrowed the list to five specific issues that they felt intergenerational working group projects could help to resolve.

Those attending broke up into four groups, with each group taking on one of the projects. The projects are:

1. A Cambria County “Intergenerational Day” to encourage local residents to communicate with people of other generations and to publicize the benefits of intergenerational interaction.
2. Forming a group of seniors to mentor troubled youth.
3. Starting The Third Way.com in Cambria County, which is using new teaching methods and curriculum for one-on-one and small group instruction for youth experiencing academic difficulties.
4. 4) A financial education program where seniors teach youth about common-sense money management and youth educate seniors about scams, particularly Internet-related ones.

The four groups are now at the stage of meeting independently of the Forum and working to produce specific intergenerational program plans. The next step, planned for late summer, is for the groups to meet again in a third Forum to lay out their strategies and work collaboratively to figure out how to implement the most promising models.

For more information on about Cambria County’s success, contact Allan Bassler at (814) 472-7986 or ajb26@psu.edu. For information about how an Intergenerational Unity Forum program can help your community, contact Dr. Matthew Kaplan at (814) 863-7871.

February, 2007