-- The $13,000 award from CIC is supported by the AARP Foundation --
HAMBURG, N.Y. – Hilbert College is pleased to announce that Hilbert is one of a select group of 21 institutions across the nation chosen by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to receive a grant in the amount of $13,000 to implement an Intergenerational Connections: Students Serving Older Adults program. The one-year grant will be used to enhance connections between undergraduate students and older adults in the community. CIC launched this new initiative with support from the AARP Foundation to encourage colleges to create or extend programs in which students help low-income older adults (ages 50 and older) tackle key life challenges.
CIC President Richard Ekman said, “CIC hopes that this pilot project will serve as a first step toward the development of a national network of programs on independent college and university campuses that promote intergenerational interaction between students and community members.”
These 21 colleges and universities will be part of a new network of colleges that the AARP Foundation hopes will help establish best practices for engaging students in meeting the challenges of older adults—hunger, safe and affordable housing, income-generation, and social isolation—in the communities surrounding college campuses.
“The CIC and AARP Foundation’s support for this important initiative will significantly improve and enhance Hilbert’s programs around helping students and seniors benefit from interacting and addressing specific needs, such as isolation, interpersonal stress, and technology,” said Cynthia Zane, president of Hilbert College.
Hilbert will partner with People Inc. for their program, Partners in Learning: Fostering Intergenerational Friendships. This collaboration will allow Hilbert’s students to deepen their commitment to the community by more specifically addressing the unmet needs of seniors who receive little service attention. It also offers students the opportunity to learn valuable skills that enable them to engage in meaningful social change.
People Inc. has a strong reputation for offering quality, innovative and unique services, and for providing subsidized senior housing in Western New York. With 3,500 staff, the organization supports in excess of 12,000 people every year.
More information about the project and the participating institutions is available on the CIC website at www.cic.edu/programs/intergenerational-connections.
Intergenerational Connections: Students Serving Older Adults (2017–2018)
Grant Recipients
Bay Path University
Bridgewater College
Caldwell University
Campbell University
Coe College
Dominican University
Dominican University of California
Elizabethtown College
Goodwin College
Hilbert College
Holy Names University
Jarvis Christian College
Meredith College
Our Lady of the Lake University
Pfeiffer University
Rust College
Shenandoah University
Springfield College
Wheeling Jesuit University
Whitman College
Wofford College
-- www.hilbert.edu --
The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of 768 nonprofit independent colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that has worked since 1956 to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of private higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on providing services to leaders of independent colleges and universities as well as conferences, seminars, and other programs that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, and institutional visibility. CIC conducts the largest annual conference of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers. CIC also provides support to state associations that organize programs and generate contributions for their member colleges and universities. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.
About AARP Foundation
AARP Foundation works to ensure that low-income older adults have nutritious food, affordable housing, a steady income, and strong and sustaining bonds. We collaborate with individuals and organizations who share our commitment to innovation and our passion for problem-solving. Supported by vigorous legal advocacy, we create and advance effective solutions that help struggling older adults transform their lives. AARP Foundation is the affiliated charity of AARP.
About Hilbert College
Hilbert College, located in suburban Hamburg, N.Y., south of Buffalo, is a private four-year college founded in 1957 in the Catholic Franciscan tradition. With nearly 1,000 students, Hilbert is a dynamic Western New York college that offers career-focused majors, including one of the top criminal justice programs in the region, and more than 50 minors and concentrations. The college’s engaging, student-centered campus community offers numerous leadership, internship, and service learning opportunities from which students launch successful careers while making positive changes in their communities. The Hilbert Blueprint promotes a well-rounded student experience over four years – starting with the Foundations Seminar in the freshman year, followed by Sophomore Service, Junior Symposium, and culminating with the Senior Capstone. Hilbert has expanded its academic offerings with the college’s first graduate programs and evening degree programs geared to adult learners.