Celebrating Older Americans Month Press Release

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The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

April 28, 2010

Presidential Proclamation--Older Americans Month

A PROCLAMATION

Older Americans have lived through momentous and trying times in our history, and they have strengthened our national character.  Their experience and wisdom connect us to the past and help us meet the challenges of the present.  During Older Americans Month, we show our support and appreciation for these treasured individuals who have contributed so much to our Nation.

 This year's theme for Older Americans Month, "Age Strong, Live Long," recognizes the efforts of people of all ages to promote the well-being, community involvement, and independence of senior citizens.  As Americans live longer, healthier, and more productive lives, many are starting second careers and continuing to be involved in their communities.  Dedicated older Americans are also answering the call to serve through the Corporation for National and Community Service's Senior Corps.

 My Administration is committed to ensuring older Americans can age strong and live long.  By strengthening Medicare and Medicaid, while protecting Social Security, we help ensure all Americans can age with dignity.  The recently enacted Affordable Care Act strengthens Medicare by providing free preventive care starting next year, enhancing care coordination, and gradually closing the "donut hole" gap in prescription drug coverage.  In addition, this law includes provisions to help prevent and eliminate elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.  Along with the Middle Class Task Force's Caregiver Initiative, we are investing in wellness and prevention programs to help seniors remain healthy and close to their loved ones.  The Administration on Aging's network of State and local organizations provides services to older Americans that help prevent unnecessary hospitalization or institutionalization.  We must also protect seniors by expanding efforts to fight fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid through national and State efforts, as well as community-based programs that empower retirees to detect and defend against health care fraud.

 Many of our Nation's older men and women have worked tirelessly and sacrificed so their children could achieve something greater.  Their passion and experience inspire us all and we are privileged to honor and care for the generations whose legacy continues to enrich our Nation and shape our future.

 NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 2010 as Older Americans Month.  I call upon citizens of all ages to honor older Americans this month with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-eighth day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.
 

BARACK OBAMA

Remembering Forward: Launch of Community Program!

The first day of Remembering Forward was amazing! We had 26 volunteers from a range of religions, cultural backgrounds and of course ages! I was overwhelmed by the volume, especially because I expected only about 20 participants. I was really surprised also by the positive experience of all the participants. Comments include: "This program changed my life" said one student; one senior said: "Barrakat Fiqhi," which means in Arabic, "May God reward you." Here are some pictures from the magical afternoon with students and seniors at the Sterling Residence! 

This senior-student pair was particularly beneficial.The student,  was surprised that she was meeting a nani (grandmother) from the same city, same country as her. I'm not sure what the students expected from the day's event, but I certainly expected that the students would be the most diverse people in the room. To my surprise, there were 3 residents who were from Pakistan, and Egypt! It was beautiful to be with them, to feel a sense of commonality because our faith was a unifying force between us. As a facilitator, I led the group through the activities but I also observed how they responded to each other. This particular pair clicked because they were from the same country, the same religion, the same city etc.  But here is an example of another pair that clicked even though they were from different cultures and religions. In the picture, the resident drew Rafia in a beautiful purple scarf, and Rafia drew her partner as she saw her, as a beautiful woman in pearls. Each woman did a fantastic job with her art!

I administered evaluations at the end of the program to assess the need or desire to continue a program like this. I wanted to data to support my claim that this is a important program that requires attention from the press and the larger community of Piscataway.  Here are some of the comments from youth and seniors: 

"Excellent!! A surprise connection & experience!!" - EK (resident)

"Spending time with seniors can be quite fun" - student

"I enjoyed this session and would like to attend others -- I learned a lot" - resident

"Senior citizens have so much to offer" - student 

"I hope we have it again." - a resident

"[I learned] that spend your time wisely and get good education." - Hira, age 13

"One thing I really enjoyed was talking to a young person" - resident 

" I learned about the interesting lives of the residents" - Dhara, age 16

"I learned that strangers can become quick friends" - Rafia, age 17

"I learned that together--no matter what the age-- people can have fun and make a difference" - student, 15

My knee bounces at high speed!

My knee is bouncing at unbelievable speed. My knees do this when I am incredibly excited or nervous, and today is a BIG day. I am coordinating my intergenerational community arts day! I'm expecting 10-12 girls today from all over the township to volunteer, and expecting about 10 seniors from the Sterling Village residence! In addition, there will be parents and staff in attendance. Most of these volunteers I will be meeting for the first time. This will be a huge learning moment for me, as well as the participants. 


I purchased my supplies yesterday and tried to talk to the manager at Staples about donating things in-kind.  In the future, I will submit paperwork so that I can get supplies donated! I ordered pizza from Rose's Pizza and Ice Cream in Edison,  picked up drinks and snacks. I am just going to complete printing and paperwork, and go over my agenda before today's event, pick up lunch for the volunteers. I also have certificates for the youth volunteers, but I do not have time to present them at today's meeting. (Time is too short!) 


Anyway, I hope to put up pictures later today! 

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

The following is a letter about the what's going around the national service movement. 

Sadia --

One year ago today, President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law.

This landmark bill signaled the largest expansion of national service since FDR.

After just one year, we're already seeing great progress. Congress approved more than $1 billion in funding for the Corporation for National and Community Service -- a historic increase that will help fund new programs like the Summer of Service and the Social Innovation Fund. At this very moment, the Corporation is processing hundreds of grant applications and will soon release many millions of dollars to service organizations nationwide.

With the support of the Serve America Act, the service movement is really taking off across the country. More and more people are learning about the many benefits of volunteering, and they're getting more and more opportunities to participate.

Help keep this momentum going and tell everyone you know about the one-year anniversary of the Serve America Act. Click here to spread the word through email or on Facebook and Twitter (hashtag #ServeAmerica):

Recently, we at ServiceNation heard some wise words from one of our supporters in Texas. Emily wrote,

I am so proud of my country for passing the unique and momentous legislation that is the Serve America Act. Yet there is much work to be done.

I couldn't agree more.

That's why today, on this one-year anniversary, a group of top service leaders are meeting in a series of "Solution Sessions" to develop a plan to expand service even further. We will put special emphasis on fostering new service opportunities to support the economic recovery, build job skills, and help soften the blow of government service cuts.

At the same time, ServiceNation supporters across the country are holding their own meetings to plan new service efforts in their communities.

We're not resting on the success of the Serve America Act. Instead, we're using it as inspiration to ratchet up our efforts even more. I hope you'll be part of this -- spread the word about today's anniversary and our plans for the future of service:

Spread the Word

Yours in service,

Greg Propper
Executive Director
ServiceNation

AGENDA PLANNING!

Remembering Forward

April 23, 2010

 
 Introduction + NAMES + Partner Portraits

 Goals:

1.   To introduce program participants to Remembering Forward

2.   To assess the needs of students/seniors in community program

3.   Facilitate a beginning discussion of cultural and age difference between seniors and youth

4.   To begin community building process using service learning model

(About 2 hours of prep time before session begins--which includes shopping for supplies, picking up food order, prepping the room, collecting paperwork, and calling all students and seniors!) 

2:00-2:30	Set up.  Sign in. Lunch/Snacks.
2:30-2:45	Welcome. Introduction to Remembering Forward
2:45 -3:05	Icebreaker: Name Wave
3:10-3:20	Community Guidelines (if necessary let this go)
3:25-3:35	Warm up Activity: THE INTERVIEW- Introduce your partner to group using questions around her Name
3:35-4:00	Partner Portraits
4:00-4:20	Sharing your Portraits
4:00-4:20	Evaluations I recognize there is a huge time crunch towards the end, during which I am doing basically two distinct activities at once. This is a problem. I must shorten the time somewhere else, but where? I know evaluations are CRUCIAL for future program development, but I need to find a way to make it super fast and easy. Or alternatively, move some of the items off my agenda.

Seven Habits for Friday, and Life

Stephen R. Covey is an internationally respected leadership authority, author, family expert, teacher, organizational consultant, and co-founder and vice-chairman of FranklinCovey Co. He has been recognized as Time magazine's twenty-five most influential Americans. He says:

 When I look into the eyes of the children, I see the hope of the world. Leadership is the highest of all the arts, for it is the enabling art of unlocking human potential. It is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it in themselves. 

 I feel the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People were inculcated by the greatest servants and prophets, individuals who served the Creator with responsibility, discipline, humility,  respect, and mercy. The seven habits, summarized below, are essentially human virtues that we are taught but forget as we age. I would like to find a way to incorporate teaching these habits into my lesson plans in the future: 


1) taking personal responsibility and initiative
2) getting clear about what's important to you and setting goals
3) putting those priorities first and being disciplined
 4) seeking mutual benefit in all interactions with others -- the golden rule
5) seeking to understand others from their perspective first before making your point
6) valuing differences and creating third-alternative solutions to problems that are better than "my way" or "your way," and 
7) taking care of and renewing yourself in all four areas of life -- body, mind, heart and spirit.


Read more here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephen-r-covey/our-children-and-the-cris_b_545034.html

GYSD Update and Grant Opportunities!

As of today, there are 2,128 projects registered in all 50 states and in 80 countries around the world.

Win A Trip to Volunteer With Miley Cyrus (Deadline: May 10) Get Ur Good On is offering one young person an opportunity to win a trip to accompany Miley Cyrus as she volunteers for one of her favorite charities. Youth, ages 8-18, can enter the contest by creating and implementing a service project in their community on Youth Service America's Global Youth Service Day, April 23-25, and uploading a video of how he or she "got their good on" atwww.GetUrGoodOn.org. Young people interested in entering the contest must plan and implement a community service project during Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), the largest service event in the world. They will have two weeks following GYSD to create a video about their project highlighting the issues addressed, how the project was implemented, and what they learned from the project. YSA reviewers will score each video and select one national grand prize winner, flying the teen and an adult chaperone to participate in a service project with Cyrus. Five second place winners will receive a Flip Mino video camcorder autographed by Miley. Get Ur Good On is an online community of youth supporting each other in their mission to do "good" in their communities. Founded in 2009 by Miley Cyrus in partnership with YSA, Get Ur Good On uses multimedia platforms, special events, and opportunities for grants and awards to give children and youth a platform to learn about, create, and implement innovative solutions to global issues. Learn more at GetUrGoodOn.org

U.S. Grants & Awards

KaBOOM! Playground Design Competition (Deadline: April 30) KaBOOM! is hosting a playground design competition in which communities can win $5,000 towards playground equipment. Through Friday April 30, communities can submit their playground designs online at www.kaboom.org. Then a panel of playful judges will look at each submission and rate it in regards to how creative, innovative, practical, comprehensive, age appropriate and fun it is. Once the judges have determined their favorites, KaBOOM! will post the top 5-10 on the website and voting will begin on Monday May 17. The three playground projects with the most votes will receive equipment grants worth up to $5,000 from a KaBOOM! Preferred Vendor. Regardless of who wins, all participants will get expert feedback on their final designs, getting their projects another step closer to success. http://kaboom.org/promote_your_project_design_contest Six Flags Friends Scholarships (Deadline: April 30) DoSomething.org has teamed up with Six Flags Friends to award college scholarships to young leaders who are taking action to make their community a better place. Scholarships will be awarded based on past, current and planned action in the community as well as the applicant's passion, commitment and proven leadership skills. Six winners will receive a $1,500 college scholarships.www.dosomething.org/grants/sixflags/scholarships Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes (Deadline: April 30) Nominate a young service-learning leader for a $2,500 Barron Prize! The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes seeks nominations for its 2010 awards. The Barron Prize honors young people ages 8 to 18 who have made a significant positive difference to people and our planet. Each year, ten national winners each receive $2,500 to support their service work or higher education. Nomination deadline is April 30. For more information and to nominate, visit www.barronprize.org ING Unsung Heroes  (Deadline: April 30) The ING Unsung Heroes awards program recognizes innovative and progressive thinking in education through monetary awards. Are you an educator with a class project that is short on funding but long on potential? Do you know a teacher looking for grant dollars? ING Unsung Heroes® could help you turn great ideas into reality for students. Each year, 100 educators are selected to receive $2,000 to help fund their innovative class projects. Three of those are chosen to receive the top awards of an additional $5,000, $10,000 and $25,000.  Eligibility: full-time educators, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, or classified staff members with effective projects that improve student learning at an accredited K-12 public or private school. www.ing.com/us/unsungheroes DoSomething ASPCA Animal Action Grants (Deadline: April 30) DoSomething.org and the ASPCA want to support you and your efforts to promote animal welfare. Are you working on project or program that is focused on decreasing animal shelter intake or increasing live release rates? Do you need money to put your ideas into action or take your project to the next level? If you answered, "YES!", you are eligible to apply for an ASPCA Animal Action Grant! 2 outstanding projects will be awarded with $1000 ASPCA Animal Action Grants. 4 projects will be awarded with $500 ASPCA Animal Action Grants. These grants can be used to support ongoing projects or project ideas or to start something new. For more information please visitwww.dosomething.org/grants/aspca Target Early Childhood Reading Grants & Arts and Culture in Schools Grants (Deadline: April 30) Target Early Childhood Reading Grants promote a love of reading and encourage young children to read together with their families by supporting programs such as after-school reading events and weekend book clubs. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: schools, libraries, and nonprofit organizations. http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031821 Target Arts and Culture in Schools Grants help schools and nonprofits bring arts and cultural experiences directly to K-12 students. Programs must have a curriculum component. Maximum award: $2,000. Eligibility: schools and nonprofit organizations. http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031819 2010 Take Pride in America National Awards (Deadline: May 7) Presented annually, the Take Pride in America® National Awards recognize individuals, groups and organizations for outstanding stewardship projects or awareness efforts involving federal, state and local lands and waters. The awards program is open to individuals, groups and organizations that have contributed to the protection and/ or enhancement of America's public lands. Examples of these include public parks, forests, grasslands, reservoirs, wildlife refuges, cultural and historic sites, local playgrounds, and other recreation areas. For all awards categories, nominations must reflect actual, measurable accomplishments achieved through volunteer service. To be achieved through volunteer service. To be eligible, projects must be "on the ground" activities, rather than advocacy. Nominated projects and efforts must have been started and/ or completed between May 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010. www.takepride.gov/honors.html Habitat for Humanity State Farm Service-Learning Partnership Grants (Deadline: May 15) Service-Learning Partnership grants provide funds for teachers and schools to develop and implement service-learning projects in partnership with their local Habitat affiliate. For the 20010-2011 school year, teachers and local Habitat affiliates can jointly apply for a one-year grant of up to $7,000 to cover educational expenses associated with the service-learning project.www.habitat.org/youthprograms/parent_teacher_leader/grants.aspx 100 Best Communities for Young People (Deadline: June 1) America's Promise Alliance and the ING Foundation are now seeking entries for the 2010 100 Best Communities for Young People (100 Best) competition. The Alliance and the ING Foundation seek to recognize 100 American cities and towns whose top priority is keeping children in school and helping end the nation's dropout crisis through innovative programs that are addressing everyday challenges facing young people and creating better places for them to live and grow. Winning communities receive ational recognition and media exposure, financial and logistic support to celebrate selection at a local event, commemorative awards to be displayed in the community, exposure to Alliance partner resources and the insights of other winning communities through an innovative online space to exchange ideas, and invitations to exclusive online informational events featuring Alliance partners designed to strengthen local efforts. Interested communities can apply through June 1.www.americaspromise.org/100Best Fizwoz Campus Challenge (Deadline: Ongoing) The fizwoz Campus Challenge is offering ten $500 grants to school organizations that use the FREE fizwoz Assignment Desk to invite photo and video submissions taken at service projects for possible use by the news media. fizwoz.com is the premier online marketplace for iPhone captured media. Utilizing a state-of-the-art auction engine and cutting-edge mobile applications, fizwoz enables the average citizen to reach all levels of media buyers, from multinational media powerhouses to campus newspapers. Just tell fizwoz how your school organization would use $500 and the FREE fizwoz Assignment Desk to get students and others with iPhones to submit newsworthy pictures and videos of service projects on GYSD or anytime in April 2010. If they like your plan, your organization will get $500 to take your project and could receive $5,000 in December for the Best Use of Fizwoz by a student group. Learn more at www.fizwoz.com/college Sign up to receive the weekly GrantStation Insider from GrantStation.com and Youth Service America with news about new funding programs, upcoming deadlines, conferences, seminars, and more.

International Grants & Awards

World of Children Founder's Youth Award (Deadline: May 1) The World of Children Awards program was created to recognize and elevate those selfless individuals who make a difference in the lives of children here in the USA and across the globe, regardless of political, religious or geographical boundaries. The 2010 Founder's Youth Award - maximum grant of up to $25,000 - recognizes youth that are making extraordinary contributions to the lives of other children. Nominee must be under the age of 21, and must have an existing non-profit organization in good standing, which can receive grant funds if awarded. www.worldofchildren.org/index.php/awards The International Award (Deadline: Ongoing) The International Award is an exciting self-development program available to all 14 to 25 year olds. Over 6 million young people worldwide have taken up the Award challenge. Young people design their own Award Programme, set their own goals, and record their own progress. The only person they compete against is themselves, by challenging their own beliefs about what they can achieve. The Programme is based around three Levels, each successive one requiring a greater degree of commitment. - BRONZE is for those over 14. The minimum period of participation to gain this Award is 6 months - SILVER is for those over 15. The minimum period of participation to gain this Award is 12 months - GOLD is for those over 16. The minimum period of participation to gain this Award is 18 months It is possible to start at any Level - some participants work their way through all three, while others start at Silver or Gold. To gain an Award, participants must complete activities in four Sections for a specified minimum period of time. www.intaward.org Motorola Foundation Grants (Deadline: Ongoing) Motorola seeks to benefit the communities where it operates around the world, including locations in North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East. The Motorola Foundation focuses its funding on education, especially programs that support math and science teacher-training programs and charitable organizations that excite young people about these subjects. Other areas of interest include increasing access to communication technology for people in the developing world and supporting communities in areas where the company operates. The Foundation funds programs only in communities where Motorola has a significant presence. Organizations based outside the United States must be located in a country with a Motorola presence and be able to prove charitable status. Applications are accepted online throughout the year.www.motorola.com/staticfiles/Business/Corporate/US-EN/corporate-responsibility/society/community-investment-motorola-foundation-apply-for-a-grant.html