Want to connect across generations? Join us:

Media coverage of social isolation and loneliness is focused almost exclusively on the problem. With barely a whisper about solutions, you’d be forgiven for thinking nobody is working on answers.

So when we opened applications for a five-week community of practice to unite innovators interested in cogenerational strategies for reducing social isolation and loneliness, we weren’t prepared for the huge response. We heard from hundreds of innovators who are deeply concerned about the problem and working to find solutions. No surprise, they don’t want to do this work alone. 

This week, representatives of 167 organizations will join the CoGenerate Innovators’ Community of Practice to learn from experts and one another. 

• They are from 8 countries, 30 states, plus Puerto Rico and Washington, DC. 
• Together, they serve more than 230,000 people.
• 75% of them bring younger and older people together; 25% are eager to start.
• More than half (57%) of the programs have been in existence three years or longer; 22% are less than a year old. 
• They have budgets from zero to tens of millions of dollars. 

These innovators will share what’s working and brainstorm new approaches to tackling the loneliness epidemic. They’ll learn more about building meaningful intergenerational relationships, managing generational conflict, valuing and tapping the assets of both older and younger generations for mutual gain and social impact, and sharing power across generations. 

We expect to learn a great deal from them and from dozens of other experts, practitioners and participants we’re interviewing now. Stay tuned for a major report on our findings in early 2025. 

In the meantime, here’s the list of organizations taking part in this community of practice. We can’t wait to get started!

United States

Arizona

• AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute, Inc., Phoenix
• Healed & Refreshed, Phoenix
• Mirabella at ASU/ Heirloom Communities, Tempe

California

• Zoomers to Boomers Improv, Alameda
• TransForMission, Sacramento 
• VillageSpaces, Culver City
• July Society, Dublin
• California Senior Legislature/SD Community College, El Cajon
• Blue Star Families, Encinitas
• Fresno EOC Foster Grandparent Program, Fresno
• BirrenCenter for Autobiographical Studies, Laguna Woods
• Bridging Generations, Marin County, San Francisco Bay Area
• Goldie , Menlo Park
• Pasadena Village, Pasadena
• For You’s Artists & Elders, San Francisco
• Dance Generators, San Francisco
• Honoring our LGBTQIA+ Elders, University of San Francisco, San Francisco
• ODC, San Francisco
• Bay Area Black Leaders/Black on Both Sides, San Francisco Bay Area
• San Francisco Parks Alliance, San Francisco
• San Francisco Sound Wave, San Francisco
• #SmartCohort – Coralus Morning Coffee Series, San Francisco
• Beyond Us & Them, Los Angeles
• Heart of Los Angeles, Los Angeles
• Westside Pacific Villages, Los Angeles
• Y.U.M.M.Y.® Time Wellness , Los Angeles
• The Family Wellness Initiative in partnership with KEFIcc℠, Sacramento
• Child Development Institute, Reseda
• San Jose Public Library Foundation, San Jose
• SDSU Center for Excellence in Aging & Longevity, San Diego
• Northern Santa Barbara County United Way, Santa Barbara
• Village Santa Cruz County, Santa Cruz
• Dance4Healing, Sunnyvale

Colorado

• Changing the Narrative, Denver
• Longer Tables, Denver
• Montessori Intergenerational Learning Communities: Early Childhood Service Corps, Denver
• Josephine Commons Committee Committed to Getting our A**sticks out of our Apartments, Lafayette
• Cohousing Association of the US, Wheat Ridge

Connecticut

• Under One Roof, Inc., Norwalk
• STAR Connections Inc., Redding
• For All Ages, Simsbury

Florida

• Innovus Innovation Center, Altamonte Springs
• Hands 4Life, Jacksonville
• Mind&Melody, Inc., Miami
• Radical Partners, Miami
• Venprendedoras, Miami
• Vermut Senior Community, Inc., Pompano
• UPLIFT Florida, Sarasota
• Senior Friendship Centers, Sarasota, Charlotte, Desoto, and Lee counties
• The Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College (ASPEC), St. Petersburg
• Perk Activities, Sunrise (and Vancouver, Canada)
• Seniors in Service of Tampa Bay, Inc., Tampa
• TSOLife, Tampa

Georgia

•  Lifespan Intergenerational, Atlanta
• Connecting Generations-STFCC, Austell
• Georgia Southern University Libraries, Statesboro
• The Decision Tree, LLC, Warner Robins

Hawaii

• University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hawaii Positive Engagement Project: SPARK Aloha!, Honolulu

Illinois

• Chicago Methodist Senior Services (CMSS), Chicago
• LGBTQ+ Intergenerational Dialogue Project, Chicago
• National Resource Center for Osher Institutes, Northwestern University, Chicago
• MenLiving, Chicago
• Empowerment Opportunity Center, Decatur
• Edwardsville Neighbors GrandPal program, Edwardsville
• AgeOptions, Oak Park
• Cor Unum, Dominican Sisters of Springfield, Ill., Springfield

Indiana

• D.U.O. EmpowerMEnt Services, Indianapolis
• Postbook, Indianapolis

Kansas

• Kansas HOSA Future Health Professionals, Pittsburg
• American Connection Corps, Wichita

Kentucky

• A Caring Place, Lexington
• Help Us Grow Reading Program, Louisville
• Jewish Family and Career Services, Louisville

Maryland

• Evolving Minds, Baltimore City
• Juanita C. Grant Foundation Inc., Capitol Heights
• Neighborhood Companions Inc., Dundalk
• Gaithersburg Beloved Community, Gaithersburg
• Empowering the Ages, Rockville

Massachusetts

• Doula Pride and Equity, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst 
• The Foundation for Art & Healing, Brighton (National)
• FriendshipWorks, Boston
• Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly (LBFE Boston), Boston
• Massachusetts Coalition to Build Community and End Loneliness, Statewide
• The InterGeneration Lab, Jamaica Plain
• The Listening Space , Jamaica Plain
• Northampton Neighbors, Northampton
• Westborough Connects, Westborough
• The Legacy Project, National

Michigan

• Turner Senior Wellness Program, Regents of the University of Michigan,  Ann Arbor
• Lori’s Hands Metro Detroit, Ypsilanti
• Perfect Pair, National

Minnesota

• YES! Young Enough to Serve, Bloomington
• Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis, Golden Valley

Missouri

• SeniorAge Area Office on Aging, Springfield

New Jersey

• Stockton Center on Successful Aging, Galloway
• Jewish Family Service of Atlantic & Cape May Counties, Margate
• Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties, Somerville
• Grandfriends: Sages of All Ages, Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel, South Orange
• NJ Intergenerational Orchestra, Summit
• Wowzitude, Woodcliff Lake

New Mexico

• Teeniors®, Albuquerque

New York

• Life Story Club, Brooklyn
• Outlet Collective, Brooklyn
• India Home, Inc., Jamaica
• Friedberg JCC, Oceanside
• Awakening Lands, Orchard Park
• St. John’s & The Nazareth University Gerontology Program, Rochester
• Concerts in Motion, New York
• High Line Park, New York
• Pandamonium Productions (Warlé), New York
• Service Learning with Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease: Sharing the Lived Experience, NYU Silver School of Social Work, New York
• United Neighborhood Houses, New York
• Grandpas United, White Plains
• Global Tinker, New York

North Carolina

• SeekHealing, Asheville
• Connection Bench & Journeymen Triangle, Raleigh

Ohio

• Asian Services in Action, Akron
• Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging , Cleveland
• MetroHealth, Cleveland
• Supporting Men in Fertility Spaces, House on King’s Corner, Columbus
• Otterbein Granville, Granville
• Opening Minds through Art (OMA), Oxford

Oregon

• C-CONECT, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland
• Green Lents, Portland
• Jewish Family & Child Service, Portland
• Meals on Wheels People, Portland
• Store to Door, Portland

Pennsylvania

• Cornwall Manor Continued Care Retirement Community, Cornwall
• Senior Adults for Greater Education, Newtown
• Pittsburgh Social Health, Pittsburgh

Puerto Rico

• Proyecto Opciones, San Juan

South Carolina

• Balance Training Among Older Adults, Clemson University, Clemson
• Intergenerational Health and Mobility Initiative, Clemson University Institute for Engaged Aging, Seneca
• Intergenerational Connections, Wofford College, Spartanburg

Tennessee

• why [here] matters, Chattanooga

Texas

• SocialRx, Amarillo Public Library, Amarillo
• The Zero Proof Social, Dallas

Vermont

• Thingtide Show & Tale LLC, Hartland
• NeverTechLate, Manchester (national/virtual)
• Social Tinkering: A Human Connection Project, Rutland

Virginia

• Encore Learning, Arlington
• 20/60 Conference, Hampton
• Art for the Journey, Midlothian
• Generations Create, Virginia Commonwealth University College of Health Professions, Richmond

Washington

• Acquaint, Bellevue
• Only7Seconds, Chelan
• Island Senior Resources, Langley
• Lifecrafting, Seattle
• SilverKite® Community Arts, Seattle
• Soapbox Project, Seattle
• Symphonic Alignment, University Place

Washington, D.C.

• Ode
• Sustained Dialogue Institute

Wisconsin

• StoryMKE, Milwaukee
• MKE Neighbors, Milwaukee
• Stone Soup (virtual)

International 

Australia

• RE-CONNECT, Coolangatta

Canada

• Aqui, Toronto
• Third Space Project, Toronto
• BridgeLink Community Connections, Vancouver
• BC Brain Wellness Program, Vancouver
• Vancouver Arts Colloquium Society, Vancouver

Egypt

• Golden Years Foundation for Community Development, Cairo

Global

• Project FUEL, India, USA, Belgium, Tanzania

Kenya

• SAYDS KENYA, Nairobi

Uganda

• Jesus Mary and Joseph vocations’ Centre , SOROTI

United Kingdom

• InCommon, London
• BREAD for Life Project, Walsall