Today we celebrate our grandparents’ contributions to our families, neighborhoods, and the nation. Grandparents enrich our lives and serve as great mentors, teachers and caregivers. They are also among our greatest advocates to strengthen the programs and policies critical to the success and well-being of our children and youth. For those of you who are grandparents, thank you for your service as volunteers in our schools and communities, and as activists working to ensure that our children have access to a quality education, clean environment, and a prosperous economy.

Whether you are a grandparent or not, we encourage you to take this week to talk with the young people in your life about their future. Consider asking them about what they view as their greatest opportunities and challenges, and how older Americans might work together to expand those opportunities and tackle those challenges. If you do so, I’d love to hear from you because your input will help us inspire people to give forward.

With warm regards,

Steve Higgs
Executive Director

New Advocacy Resources and Events

• For ideas on how grandparents can advocate for kids, see Generations United’s Grandparents Day Take Action Guide.
• To support other volunteers in Portland, consider becoming a volunteer leader with Hands on Portland.
• To help communicate the critical work of Oregon nonprofits, get informed about the depth and primary activities of the nonprofit sector at Nonprofit Oregon.
• If you’ve ever wanted to petition a decision-maker, consider launching an online petition with change.org, empowering people to create the change they want to see.
• Stay informed by reviewing the newest additions to our SAGE Library, a Guest Column by Jay Bloom in The Oregonian on Oregon’s older population as a growing resource, and an insightful report on Keeping Baby Boomers Volunteering by the Corporation for National and Community Service.
• If you’re interested in aging and spirituality, consider attending this October 18 lecture presented in Portland by Dr. Costello and sponsored by the Oregon Friends of C.G. Jung.

Nominate a Sage for our StoryTree

SAGE is building a StoryTree to feature our Sages – people over fifty who are volunteering time, energy, and wisdom to create opportunities for younger and future generations. Our Sages are available to field questions from others who may be interested in learning more about their efforts to give forward. If you know of someone whose efforts inspire others, consider nominating them for our StoryTree.