FAMILY FUN
September is Intergeneration Month
by Jacqueline Webster
The Intergeneration Foundation (IG), formerly the Fountain Institute, has been working to intentionally connect
generations by communicating, celebrating, and educating since 1987. Founder Sandy Kramer formed the
institute in order to research intergenerational issues.
The research identified the need to set aside a time
each year to focus on intentionally connecting generations to better communicate age-related gratitude and
needs. Intergeneration Day was originally designed as
a day celebration, but has recently expanded into the
whole month of September, in order to give families
the opportunity to incorporate more events. What better way to celebrate than to plan some fun events to
connect the generations in your family!
Storytelling is a great way to entertain, inform and
educate family members about events that have happened in the past. Plan a visit to a senior living facility
or ask the elders in your family if they can tell you and
your family a story. They have likely seen a lot in their
time and have interesting stories to tell. Listen and record their stories, for they will be a great reminder of
the past. You would be surprised what you could learn
from each other. It is important to keep those oral traditions going or risk them being lost to time.
Once you have accomplished researching your family
history, create an intergenerational scrapbook for the
present generations of your family. Have every member of your family design a page. Start in the 1920’s
and create a page for each generation to the present. You can incorporate news events, fads, stories,
quotes, music, and pictures of your family and friends.
The scrapbook you make today will serve as a great
link to the past for future generations.
Now that you and your family have some ideas for Intergeneration Month, you can start planning events to
connect the generations of your family. Incorporate
events with organizations, families, and individuals
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