Intentional intergenerational programming is at the core of Vincentian’s approach to human services. And it’s starting to get a lot of attention.
Independent Living Life Enrichment Coordinator Kenna Embree was recently announced as a recipient of the inaugural Eisner Prize Fellowship.
Announced in April 2023, the Eisner Prize Fellowship program is the next phase in the evolution of the Eisner Prize for Intergenerational excellence, which has honored people and organizations doing exceptional intergenerational work across the country since 2011. The Fellowship seeks to uplift the next leaders in the intergenerational space by providing financial resources, networking opportunities, and the prestige of the Eisner Prize to individuals with new ideas and perspectives that will propel the field forward.
The 2023/24 cohort of Fellows were selected from a highly competitive applicant pool, and received a $10,000 stipend, an additional $40,000 to support their intergenerational project proposal, and a scholarship to the July 2023 Generations United’s Global Conference.
Kenna’s project, Fur-Ever Friends, is designed to bring together two generations highest at risk for loneliness and isolation: seniors and college students while serving a community need of pet homelessness.
Foster pets will be placed with Vincentian independent living residents who will share responsibilities and foster time with college students who live within the independent living communities as part of the Students-in-Residence (SIR) program. Both generations will work together to help the local shelters place the pet in a forever home within the extended Pittsburgh community.
Fur-Ever Friends isn’t just about pet adoption, it’s about the paws-abilities that come from building intergenerational relationships.
Stay tuned for more information on Fur-Ever Friends, and check out coverage of Kenna’s project from ABC News (WTAE-TV)
