Want to Recruit Younger People? Look Within

Want to Recruit Younger People? Look Within

For the past five years, I’ve been working as an advocate for the causes I believe in and for more intergenerational collaboration. Young people like me want more opportunities to work across generations for change, but we also want to be treated as equals.  To...

What Young Leaders Want — And Don’t Want — From Older Allies

What Young Leaders Want — And Don’t Want — From Older Allies

We know from our nationally representative study with NORC at the University of Chicago in 2022 that 76% of Gen Z and 70% of Millennial respondents wish they had more opportunities to work across generations for change.  In a new report, What Young Leaders Want — And...

A Long List of Free Resources to Help Get You Through This Crisis

By Duncan Magidson | Apr 14, 2020

The list below was originally published in April 2020. It includes free resources for members of the CoGenerate community who are looking for ways to support their neighbors and communities. Some of the listings may be out-of-date.

EVENTS

See our Events Page, where you’ll find events that CoGenerate is hosting, as well as events we’ve discovered through friends or partners in our community. 


VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

AARP: AARP’s Create the Good program features hundreds of volunteer roles to support youth from home. Enter your ZIP code and then select “Show Only Home/Remote Opportunities” in the upper-left section of the page. Additionally, AARP’s Community Connections includes information on online mutual aid groups that will help you to stay connected, share ideas, and help those in need.

Careervillage.org: COVID-19 is causing a spike in student questions about careers. Give career advice to young people online via this online platform where students ask questions of people with experience in particular fields.

Mon Ami: This organization addresses social isolation among senior citizens by pairing them with college students, often far from their own families.

Neighborly invitation: Copy, edit, and distribute this form letter to your neighbors to get a community group off the ground.

Sharing Smiles: This is an initiative of Empowering the Ages (DC area), which connects adults to youth through two different programs – one connecting groups of adults and youth and the other connecting individuals. With each program, people can find pen pals, write joint stories, create poetry, share artwork, inspire with motivational quotes, and creatively share our individual strengths. Register a group here

Upchieve: Help low-income high school students by offering math and college-planning advice online. Upchieve connects students with live academic support through its free platform. 

Volunteer From Your Couch: If you’re stuck at home, but still want to help your community at this time, see this site for virtual volunteer opportunities. As they say, “No experience necessary. Pajamas encouraged.”

VolunteerMatch: Search virtual and on-site volunteer opportunities to aid communities impacted by COVID-19. Thousands of volunteers are needed daily.


SELF CARE

4-7-8 Breath: The 4-7-8 breathing technique, also known as “relaxing breath,” involves breathing in for 4 seconds, holding the breath for 7 seconds, and exhaling for 8 seconds. This breathing pattern aims to reduce anxiety or help people get to sleep.

Crisis Text Line: If you’re struggling with anxiety right now, reach out to Crisis Text Line by texting SHARE to 741741.

Ed’s Connect: This free monthly phone call proactively connects people nationwide to share topics of interest and foster education for improved quality of life. Ed’s Connect offers an answer to societal loneliness by bringing all age groups together on confidential monthly phone calls. Through these calls, resources are identified to assist in finding helpful answers for specific areas of need.

Feeling anxious and stuck inside?“: This Medium post offers a list of free at-home workouts and meditations, including those from Glo, CorePower and others.

Friendship Line California: A vital lifeline for people aged 60 years and older and adults living with disabilities to connect with a caring, compassionate voice ready to listen and provide emotional support. As the nation’s only accredited hotline of its kind, this service supports all older Californians who may benefit from a friendly conversation.

In The Rooms: If you want to get sober or are already in recovery, there are lots of virtual meetings taking place at InTheRooms.com.

Stuck at Home? These 12 Famous Museums Offer Virtual Tours You Can Take on Your Couch (Video): Google Arts & Culture teamed up with over 2500 museums and galleries around the world to bring anyone and everyone virtual tours and online exhibits of some of the most famous museums around the world.


RESOURCES FOR NONPROFITS

America Forward’s Advocacy in Times of Crisis Briefing: America Forward shares guidance about advocacy work in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis. See these materials to learn how social entrepreneurs and nonprofits can meaningfully advance key priorities in the midst of such massive disruption.

Annotated Strategy Triage Tool: Community leaders must begin to reorient themselves to a new reality and make choices about their work when it comes to what’s needed and what’s possible going forward. This tool helps leaders begin or refine that process.

Ben Delaney’s Nonprofit Marketing Handbook: The chapter on Crisis Communications from Ben Delaney’s Nonprofit Marketing Handbook has been released at no charge for leaders of nonprofits organizations to help them deal with fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

BoardSource: What Nonprofit Board Members Should Be Doing Right Now to Address the COVID-19 Situation: These guidelines for boards offer key considerations and suggestions for how they can work with nonprofits to respond to this crisis.

Chronicle of Philanthropy, “Responding to the Coronavirus Outbreak: Resources to Help Nonprofits”: The impacts of the virus on your nonprofit can be a lot to handle. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has put together a few online resources to save you time, help you plan swiftly, and keep you focused on your most pressing priorities.

How We Run Podcast: Tips and tales of non-profit success in fundraising, board development, and doing good. Each episode features an interview with a non-profit about the tactics they use to raise funds and have impact. Hosted by Julie Lacouture (non-profit consultant and founder of Good Ways Inc) and Trent Stamp (founder of Charity Navigator and CEO of the Eisner Foundation).

Mapping Our Social Change Roles in Times of Crisis: This mapping exercise offered by Deepa Iyer helps identify our roles in a social change ecosystem. Together, the map and reflection guide can be used at an individual level to reflect, assess, and plan, as well as at staff and board retreats, team-building meetings, orientations, and strategy sessions.

Resources for Online Meetings, Classes, and Events: As we scramble to move our offline interactions online, this is an emerging initial place to share, curate and organize resources. Created by the Facilitators for Pandemic Response group and other collaborators.

Start Your Recovery: This website provides helpful information for people who are dealing with substance use issues — and their family members, friends, and co-workers, too. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges faced by those who misuse alcohol, prescription or illegal drugs, or other substances, and Start Your Recovery aims to break through the clutter to help people at any stage of recovery.


OTHER RESOURCES

Caribu: This video-calling app integrates children’s books and activities, allowing more children to get at least 20 minutes a day of reading and “screen positive” time with a trusted adult — anywhere in the world.

CIRKEL Up: Meet an interesting new person from a different generation every month. Everyone is a mentor and a mentee, fostering a unique two-way mentorship for mutual personal and professional growth. This is open to anyone, anywhere and CIRKEL Up is offering three months free, with three introductions. Apply here.

Class Central’s Online Ivy League Courses: See this listing for college courses to help keep your mind sharp and engaged.

COVID-19 Resource Guide for Newcomers: This website contains resources to help newcomers to the U.S. who are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The guide covers topics such as online learning for children, tech support, school closures, financial help, food, healthcare, unemployment insurance, and more.

COVID-19 Resources for Older Adults & Caregivers: This comprehensive list from the National Council on Aging includes information on meals, transportation and other services.

Generations United:

AllConnect: See these basic internet safety tips to help older adults stay connected online during this time.

Getsetup: Free education to seniors to help them and their loved ones get through the next couple of months to stay healthy, connected and productive. Their team of retired teachers will help with basic tech, such as: Gmail, Facebook, Zoom, Understanding Medicare, Social Security benefits, how to order groceries and household items online with Instacart and Amazon Prime, finding entertainment options like Netflix and even finding online exercise classes. Their course “Stay Connected With Family and Friends” shares how to set up a video chat on services like Zoom, Webex and Skype.

Grandparents Academy: Grandparents Academy helps older adults leverage the power of existing technology to grow meaningful relationships and rich legacies with their loved ones.

Op-ed Writing — Tips and Tricks: These free resources and tips from The OpEd Project include FAQs on how to write and pitch and contact information for many media outlets.

StoryCorps Connect: Enables you to record a StoryCorps interview with a loved one remotely using video conference technology. The audio and a still photo from each interview goes into an archive at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Your interview becomes part of American history, and hundreds of years from now, future generations will listen in.

Tinkergarten at Home: Launched by Tinkergarten, the organization that’s known for its outdoor-based early childhood education programs to get caregivers outside—and learning—with their kids. Sign-up to get free access to weekly Tinkergarten activities, educational insights, and live online sessions with other families. To reach even more kids and families, they’re now offering activities in Spanish and English.

Top 100 Virtual Tours Around The World [2020]: This post includes 100 links to virtual tours and unique experiences around the world.