It seems self-evident that generations can reinforce each other – by sharing the stories of their lives, by working together, and by living together in communities that are responsive to the needs of citizens of all ages. But those communities are too few and far between.

A national organization called generations united™ — supported by the Met Life Foundation — wants to find five of those special communities and honor them for being “on the cutting edge of intergenerational planning and living.”

Founded in 1986, the organization is a catalyst for change and works in collaboration with 100 national, state and local groups representing 70 million Americans. Their mission is “improving the lives of children, youth and older adults through intergenerational collaboration, public policies, and programs.” It is the only national membership organization “building bridges between generations.”

Check out the Awards Announcement [Deadline for Applications: January 31, 2012] and the wonderful profiles of multigenerational families on their site at “Donna’s Blog.”

generations united™
Because we’re stronger together®
www.gu.org

We're Looking for America's Best Intergenerational Communities

As a model for one kind of care-getting I describe the Caring Collaborative created by The Transition Network (TTN).

Here is an article that describes how it works….

By Elizabeth Pope
The New York Times
September 11, 2011

Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times - Support Network Charlotte Frank, right, with members of the Caring Collaborative, Shoya Zichy, left, and Pam Ramsden, at Ms. Frank's apartment.

As Ms. Zichy lay helpless on the sidewalk, Pam Ramsden came along, on her way to visit the same woman, who was recovering from a traffic accident. “I couldn’t let Shoya go to the hospital alone, so I jumped in the ambulance with her,” said Ms. Ramsden. “I’ve never seen anyone in such pain.”

Ms. Ramsden, 67, spent the next 10 hours in a hospital emergency room with Ms. Zichy and accompanied her home in a taxi at 1 a.m. “I was so grateful she was there, because I was in shock and could barely function,” said Ms. Zichy, a corporate career coach in her 60s…

Read more…

TTN CARING COLLABORATIVE

The Caring Collaborative is an innovative model for aging in community developed by The Transition Network, a growing non-profit organization for women over 50 who join forces to successfully navigate life’s transitions.

The TTN Caring Collaborative is laying the groundwork for a support system to allow women to live independently through the exchange of information and services organized by and provided by peers in the TTN community.

After a year of testing, the Caring Collaborative is poised to become a new national model for organizing care and support among members in the community. In less than one year, members logged more than 500 hours of caring exchanges! Join now!

http://www.ttncaringcollaborative.org/

We all know walking is just about the most perfect exercise.

Out the door, one foot in front of the other, 30 to 50 minutes – three or more times per week and you’re on your way to feeling fit.

I joined the Rosedale Walking Group, to be healthier, but more importantly, I wanted to connect with other women. And, I was lucky. I met a small group of feisty and inspiring women – ages from 30s to 70s – at the Rosedale Running/Walking Room in Toronto.

Together, we learned about proper shoes, bras, nutrition, stretches, core work, etc. We all knew some of this stuff, but we learned new things about our own bodies in a different context. We shared health and fitness tips, stories and we learned about each other’s lives.

Our clinics started with short walks, but we quickly progressed to hill training and longer walks.

That’s when everything changed.

We became more deeply committed to the walking, training for races and to each other. The group’s energy propelled us all forward. We entered races in our own city (Toronto), Chicago, Spain and two women from our group traveled to Greece for the 2500th Anniversary of the Olympic Marathon!

How did our group progress from walking 5K to half-marathons and beyond?

The “Secrets” of the Rosedale Walking Group:

1. Stay in the moment – breathe, look around, feel the joy
2. Talk about food, flowers, families, books, movies, the weather – keep it light
3. Avoid politics – for the most part
4. Observe Lucy’s Rule – the longer the walk, the more details needed per story
5. Plan your vacations around walking – see the world in a new way
6. Enter a race – raise money for a cause, reap the admiration of family and friends
7. Keep walking – feel positive about yourself!

As our wonderful coach, Donna Foster-Larocque says: “Stay Active and Anything is Possible.”

Mary Eileen Williams, the warm, lively and informative host of “Feisty Side of Fifty Radio,” promises her listeners: “Give me just fifteen minutes of your time and I’ll give you interviews with authors, actors, and experts who will inspire you to make significant and positive changes in your own life.” And, she delivers on the promise.

Her recent guests include:

• Kathy Smith, leading force in the fitness industry for close to 30 years whose latest video – Ageless with Kathy Smith: Staying Strong – celebrates growing better with age.
• Louise Knight, author of Jane Addams: Spirit in Action, talks about the remarkable and revolutionary Jane Addams and her essay on aging written in 1914: “Need a Woman Over Fifty Feel Old?”
• Marc Freedman, author, boomer expert, and CEO of Civic Ventures whose latest book, The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife, is a call to redraw the map of life and what we typically know as retirement.
• Christina Haag, author of Come to the Edge, a tribute to John F. Kennedy Jr. and a look back at their fifteen-year friendship.
• Linda Francis Lee, bestselling author of Emily and Einstein, an exploration of second chances, reinvention and redemption.
• Kim Johnson Gross, author of What to Wear for the Rest of Your Life: Ageless Secrets of Style, talks about latest trends and tips for Spring fashions.
• Barbara Hannah Grufferman, Huffington Post columnist and author of The Best of Everything After 50: The Experts’ Guide to Style, Sex, Health, Money, and More, who motivates and inspires women to reach for their dreams.
• Betsy Werley, Executive Director of The Transition Network, shares her thoughts and professional experience on transitioning from the corporate world to a career in the nonprofit sector.

Visit Feisty Side of Fifty Radio for LIVE, On Demand or Archived programs. All programs available on iTunes (FREE). You can listen to recent programs here – click on Listen and Share (right sidebar).

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/feisty-side-of-fifty
http://www.feistysideoffifty.com

Women Redefining Life after 50…

Smarter, Bolder, Older™ – a one-day event for women 50+ – grew out of my own experience of aging and conversations with other women. I am committed to changing the stereotype of aging and loss in midlife to one of vitality, embracing new opportunities and possibilities as women in midlife and beyond get clear on what matters and makes the most of this stage of their lives.

I wanted to create an environment where women could come together to share, network and experience this time in our lives as unique and exciting. More than seventy women gathered in a welcoming space in April 2011 for a rich dialogue (in Upper Nyack, NY) and together we explored common questions:

• What’s important to you at 50+ and how is it different than in previous years?
• What energizes and inspires you about growing older?
• What challenges you?
• What would you like to experience and create?

We shared stories about aging, honored women who have led inspiring lives into their 70’s and beyond, and participated in guided lyrical movement patterns to explore power, purpose and transformation. An art installation featured images from the upcoming book: “Goddess on Earth, Portraits of the Divine Feminine” (LUSH Press, July 2011) and we had a performance by Moving Mantras.

We donated the registration fee to The Rockland Community Foundation’s programs for Women and Girls. This was an important aspect of creating the event.

The entire day and response to the event was exhilarating:

“Amazing opportunity…I’m feeling more energized and more focused already!”

“Thank you just doesn’t seem enough for the wonder of the day at ‘Smarter, Bolder, Older.’ And – as many testified — ‘get our bearings’ once again for own creativity and our place in the world”

Enid Weishaus, MSW, founder of Smarter, Bolder, Older™. She previously held positions as Regional Director for Senators Clinton and Gillibrand in the Lower Hudson Valley. Enid teaches success strategies and presentation skills to women who want to be entrepreneurs. For more information, please contact: enidweishaus@optonline.net.

Now that the majority of us boomers have blown out the candles on our half-century birthday cake (and many have waved goodbye to our fifties altogether), I like to say we’ve become the generation to transform the spirit and style of aging. Remaining true to our trailblazing history, we’re far from dissolving into the invisible shrinking violets older women are “supposed” to be. No way—our bodacious, revolutionary spirit is showing zero signs of wilting. In fact, thanks to a hearty dose of menopausal zest, it’s going stronger than ever before!

Special Club for Feisty Boomers

There’s one special club that embodies our celebrated joie de vivre and legendary spunk, The Red Hat Society, and this remarkable organization has become the largest women’s social club in the world. Although attendance at this group’s events will have you seeing red, members are encouraged to pursue the five F’s: fun, friendship, freedom, fulfillment, and fitness. (I might suggest a sixth F—for feistiness. That particular descriptor may have been officially omitted, but it’s certainly implied.)

The Red Hat Society is dedicated to reshaping the way women are viewed in today’s culture and, in pursuit of this mission, has created an impressive legacy of achievements. One of the most recent accomplishments this legendary club can boast is inclusion in the premier cultural collection of the land: The Smithsonian Institution! Yes, the original red fedora purchased by founder Sue Ellen Cooper as well as her purple-feather boa are now nattily displayed in all their colorful glory.

Sue Ellen, the Exalted Queen Mother herself, and Debra Granich, CEO of the Red Hat Society, have graciously shared their thoughts on what it means to wear the eye-catching combo of red and purple in a recent interview on Feisty Side of Fifty Radio. Be certain to tune in to this very special broadcast with these two remarkable women.

In fact, you won’t want to miss a single word. With advice such as “gaudy is good” and “give yourself a title and call yourself a queen” you know these women are celebrating the feisty side of fifty. In the oh-so-colorful fashion befitting the boomers’ spirit and style of aging, the Red Hat Society is one fabulous group. And, better yet, there’s not a single invisible shrinking violet in sight!

Mary Eileen Williams - M.A., N.C.C. – is the founder of Feisty Side of Fifty/ Boomer Women – Celebrating Women 50 and Better, with close to twenty years as a career/life transition counselor, workshop facilitator, and writer. Her most recent book: Land the Job You Love! 10 Surefire Strategies for Jobseekers Over 50. www.feistysideoffifty.com

Red Hat Society – For more information – How to join, Find a chapter near you or Start a chapter – please visit: www.redhatsociety.com

When I wrote, “Fifty Is the New Fifty. Sixty, I hasten to add, is also the new sixty, and seventy the new seventy. And the women who are the new fifty, sixty, and seventy wouldn’t want it to be anything else…” I knew that we are a different generation than our mothers.

And, we are pioneering change for women in a new stage of life…

“Every time we look up, there seems to be a new frontier ahead of us. We don’t know where the next blow or blessing will come from; we don’t know how we are going to deal with it, but increasingly we are gaining the confidence that we can cope with whatever comes.”

- FIFTY IS THE NEW FIFTY: 10 Life Lessons for Women in Second Adulthood

That is why I am happy to celebrate “BEST AFTER 60,” a new site that is a resource and community for you and me. Founded by entrepreneur and women’s advocate Dianne Beaudoin Morris it celebrates who we are today!

Here’s what Dianne has to say about her goals:

“During our lives, the roles and opportunities for women have proliferated – the challenges too.

Our lives are not our mothers’ lives. Now many of us are moving into new and largely uncharted territory for women. I can see this in the lives of my sisters, my friends and my acquaintances. We need new information, advice, recommendations and inspiration. BestAfter60.com attempts to be a resource to help us to live our best lives after 60.

I’ve had a long and continuing career as a serial entrepreneur. During the course of it, I’ve been involved with many women’s groups and with individual women who have been inspiring and helpful to my life. I look forward to our continued sharing.”

Dianne Beaudoin Morris
Editor

FIFTY IS THE NEW FIFTY and an interview with me are featured on www.BestAfter60.com.

Join me and this new community of women.

THE NATIONAL VILLAGE

GATHERING, PHILADELPHIA, PA

We know it works for children. And, now we are learning being part of a village makes aging easier too!

Imagine a village where members volunteer to help each other with some of the daily tasks that become a little more difficult as we age, that offer social connections and events beyond the standard golf game and bring people of all ages together to create a vibrant community.

Sound wonderful?

The Village to Village Network (Vtv Network http://bit.ly/beYli7) concept is about providing a range of services and access to personal care resources to those who want to ‘age in place’ (their own homes). It allows people in second adulthood to remain active members in their communities, and provides volunteer opportunities for people of all ages.

I will be speaking at the National Village Gathering on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at 9:30 a.m. I am looking forward to meeting the pioneers of this movement from across America whose mottos include:

“I am part of a Village because…I’ve made wonderful friends…My community helps me stay fit…coffee tastes better with friends…I Iike to do my own shopping…and much more.”

To find out more about the National Village Gathering, see below and visit:

http://bit.ly/bELOYV

VILLAGE TO VILLAGE NATIONAL GATHERING

When: Thursday, Nov. 11, 2010, 8:00 AM to Friday, Nov. 12, 2010, 3:00 PM

Where: Doubletree Hotel Philadelphia

237 South Broad Street

Philadelphia, PA 19107-5686

1-215-893-1600

Contact: Rita Kostiuk, 617-299-9638, Rita@vtvnetwork.org

*Advance Registration & Fee required.