AGE to age: Young, old to address community needs

Original Source

A program bringing young people, adults, education, faith communities and civic and business organizations together continues Thurs., March 19 at Bay View Elementary school.

Billed as “An Intergenerational Community Conversation,” the group will discuss what life is like as a teenager now and what it was like in the past. After sharing their experiences, the topic changes to how they can work together to address community needs.

Speakers from the past eight decades, as well as those now attending high school, will give their perspectives on growing up in Proctor and what can be done to make it a better place in which to live.

The initial meeting was held Feb. 5. The next gathering will be a “Visioning and Action Planning” meeting Thurs., April 2 at the Proctor Area Community Center. A “Strategic Planning” meeting will take place Mon., April 20 at Pike Lake Elementary.

All meetings include a free light dinner and will be held from 5:30 to 6 p.m., followed by the discussion.

AGE to age is a partnership between the Northland Foundation and Proctor, and an effort to bring generations together, exploring ways they can work together to identify needs and create a project to benefit the Proctor area.

Once the goals, objectives, timeline and budget are finalized, the Northland Foundation will fund the effort with a three-year grant.

Proctor is one of 10 AGE to age communities selected. The others include: Bois Forte Reservation, Bovey-Coleraine, Chisholm, Cloquet, Fond du Lac Reservation, Floodwood, Grand Portage Reservation, McGregor, and Moose Lake.

The initiative was the result of a regional study on the civic engagement of older adults conducted by the Northland Foundation in 2007.

AGE to age is made possible through a $100,000 Phase Two Grant from the Community Experience Partnership, an aging initiative of The Atlantic Philanthropies.