Harvest Drive Time!

Hard to believe we’re in November already, but you know what that means…Harvest Drive time! This is a great local initiative and we need all the help we can get, from volunteers to donations. We’ll be out at Westglades Middle the 14th, 15th and 16th packing, sorting and helping out, so if you’re in need of service hours or just something meaningful to do this holiday season, we could use your help. For more information about Harvest Drive, check out their website at http://www.harvestdriveflorida.com.

Melissa and Andrew recently went back to Washington D.C. to take part in the America Saves forum. We got a lot of great feedback and ideas, but the biggest thing we took away from it that we can share with you all is that the best way to start saving is to set it and forget it. Most banks have automated transfers from your checking to your savings account and even if you only start out with $5 or $10 a month, that’s still better than nothing. You’d be amazed how automated transfers like that can help your savings grow over time.

Finally, we’re always in need of volunteers for our garden activities, whether that’s out at the Coral Springs Community Garden (http://www.facebook.com/groups/107678445929613/) or at our garden at Hunt Elementary. It’s just now starting to cool off, so this is a great way to get outside and take advantage of the weather. We’ll see you at this month’s coalition meeting!

October is almost here!

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and to do our part, Building Generations will be colleting used cell phones and donating them to a shelter for victims of domestic violence. World Sight Day is on October 7th and we’re also collecting eye glasses to donate to our local Lions Club. If you have used cell phones or glasses that you no longer need, bring them by our offices at the Family Success Center across the street from Mullins Park and we’ll take care of the rest!

We’ve had lots going on over the past month or so. Our third and final project for the Volunteer Florida’s BEST Neighborhoods grant was to install a computer lab in the St. Andrew Towers and we celebrated the grand opening of that by having the seniors come down for a tour and refreshments. Our local paper, the Coral Springs Forum came out to get some feedback and wrote an article on our project, which can be found here: http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-09-21/news/fl-cspf-computers-0922-20110921_1_tracy-ansonia-computer-classes-seniors. We’re always in need of volunteers to come in and work with the seniors, so if you’re in need of service hours and available Wednesdays from 4-5, give us a call at 954-357-5000 to find out more!

We’ll be starting our Garden Club at Hunt Elementary next week on Thursday, October 6th, so if you’d like to help out (or need service hours), get in touch with us. We just planted a new crop out at our plot in the Coral Springs Community Garden and need volunteers to water and weed. It’s a great opportunity to get your hands dirty and give back to your community. If you’re looking to get involved, get in contact with us by calling or emailing buildinggenerations@arcbroward.com.

Intergenerational Computer Lab

Hope everyone is enjoying what’s left of their summers! We’re in the final stages of getting everything ready to go for our computer lab at the St. Andrew Towers in Coral Springs. This was made possible through the Volunteer Florida BEST Neighborhoods grant that we won (we were the only organization in Broward County to do so!) and is the last of three projects we secured money to do.

We’ll be providing furniture and 5 computers, complete with webcams so the seniors living their can Skype with their families and additionally, some of the teen members from our program will be on site weekly to offer tutoring and answer any questions the residents may have. If you’re a high school student in Coral Springs and are looking for a way to earn your service hours, this is a great way to do it!

Throughout the course of next week, we’ll be setting the lab up with the goal of having it open and ready for use on Friday. If you’d like to volunteer, give us a call at 954-357-5000 and ask for Andrew. Check out pictures at facebook.com/BuildingGenerations.

2011 Building Generations Scholarship Information

We’re currently accepting applications for our 2011 Building Generations Scholarship.

The award will be given to two seniors graduating from a high school in Coral Springs that have made an impact in their community with plans to continue their education at a post secondary institution. The $500 award may be put towards books, tuition or other school-related expenses.

To apply, check out the details on the flier and complete the form, both of which can be found here: Scholarship Flier/Application Form 2011 and return it to our office, along with the rest of the required materials, at the Northwest Family Success Center (across the street from Mullins Park) before the deadline of July 30th. We look forward to seeing all of your applications, good luck!

2010 Annual Report is here!

Hey Everyone,

We just finished up our annual report and you can find the link to the .pdf version of it here:

 Building Generations Annual Report LoRes

If you’d like a hard copy, stop by our offices at the Northwest Famliy Success Center and ask to see Melissa or Andrew. This report does a great job of telling our story and everything that we accomplished over the past year, complete with pictures of our many coalition members. You may be in it, check and see!

We have a lot going on this summer, from our on-going volunteer efforts at Hunt Elementary sustaining and maintaining their school garden, to our final BEST Neighborhoods project, which consists of setting up a computer lab in the St. Andrew Towers, there are plenty of ways to get involved.

Find us on facebook at Facebook.com/BuildingGenerations and don’t forget to like us!

Celebrate Earth Day in a Meaningful Way!

We’ve had a lot of great developments over the past month or so. Out of hundreds of agencies throughout the state that applied for a BEST Neighborhoods Grant, Building Generations was the only program in Broward County to be awarded funding.

We’re using that money to host three events. The first was Coral Springs Saves, where we rented out Coral Square Mall and had lots of our partner agencies come and provide information and services to people. The second event we’ll be hosting is this Friday. Building Generations will be out at 5 group homes throughout Coral Springs that serve people with disabilities. If you need service hours or are just looking for a way to get involved and give back to your community, this is a great way to do so. This will be taking place from 8AM till noon and we’ll be providing lunch for all of our volunteers. If you’re interested, call 954-357-5000 ext 4969 and ask for Melissa, check our facebook page out at Facebook.com/BuildingGenerations or email buildinggenerations@arcbroward.com.

We hope to see you all out there on Friday! Stay tuned for more information about our third and final project.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

It was great to see all the new faces at our monthly Neighborhood Coalition Meeting last Thursday. We’ve come a long way from our early meetings of 10 or so people; more than 40 people came out!

We have a LOT going on this month, so there are many opportunities for Coral Springs residents and members of our program to come out and get involved.

Tomorrow at 10AM we’ll be out at our plot in the Coral Springs Community Garden planting some seeds so we can get our garden growing. We’ll provide the supplies and tools, just show up ready to work!

We’ve also received a lot of demand for a CPR class, so we’re happy to announce that we have one scheduled for Monday, February 28th from 4:30-6PM at the Sartory Center. Cindy Heefe of the Coral Springs Police Department will be on hand to instruct the class for us and the certification costs will be covered by the Building Generations program. Come on out and learn these important, practical and life-saving skills!

We were recently awarded a BEST Neighborhood grant and were the only organization in Broward County to do so. The money will be put towards 3 seperate events and we’re going to need your help, so be on the lookout for more information about what we plan to do.

Finally, we have a huge event scheduled for Saturday, March 5th. As part of the national America Saves initiative, we’re going to rent out Coral Square mall from 10:30-2:30 and bring all of our friends and partner organizations out to showcase their services and offer financial know-how to people in attendance. Even if it’s only a dollar here or a dollar there, anyone can start saving. “Start small, think big”.

Things are in full swing and we have a busy schedule with lots of activities and events for people to get involved in. Give us a call at 954-357-5000 or email us at buildinggenerations@arcbroward.com to see how you can start today!

Full moons and schedules

Hard to believe October is finally here! Our Intergenerational Olympics were a success. Our CEO, Dennis Haas, describes the event in a press release:

Building Generations, a United Way funded community impact initiative administered by ARC Broward, hosted the Inaugural Inter-generational Olympics on August 19th in Coral Springs, Florida. The event helped over 25 local youth and seniors band together in events including bowling, volleyball, three legged races and mixed doubles tennis.  Coral Springs Vice Mayor Claudette Bruck opened the event encouraging youth to appreciate the experience as well as the valuable gift of engaging with local seniors in a meaningful way. “We have seen first hand the positive impact that youth and seniors have on each other when they have opportunities to interact and be engaged together,” said ARC Broward President & CEO Dennis Haas.  

Participants enjoyed bowling so much that an Intergenerational Bowling League stemmed from it; check our calendar for the dates that we get together. Teens that play have the opportunity to earn service hours for helping to tear down the generational barriers.

We’ve also made our way into the social networking arena. Follow us on Twitter and like our page on Facebook. We use these tools, in addition to our calendar, to promote our classes, events and activities. We’re constantly updating them with all kinds of opportunities, so don’t be a stranger!

We have something going on every week in October and there are tons of service hour opportunities for high school students in Coral Springs, so if you’re looking for something to do or are in need of some hours, come make an impact with us!

Finally, with all of the rennovations going down at our headquarters, the NW Family Success Center, our number has changed. We can be reached at 954-357-5000. Just ask for Melissa or Andrew!

Bringing the Olympics to Coral Springs

We’re gearing up for the first ever Coral Springs Intergenerational Olympics. What’s that you ask? In addition to being a great way to socialize and have some fun, the main purpose is to break down the barriers between the city’s youth and elderly. We’d love for you to join us on August 19th-20th from 8AM to 1PM on each day. We’ll have food and transportation (in the event it’s needed) for participants and the events are swimming, bowling, basketball, tennis and an intergenerational three legged race. People of all ages are welcomed to participate and high schoolers in need of service hours will receive 5 for each day they attend. The registration deadline is Thursday, August 12th. No late registrations accepted. To register please call 954-761-2121 ext 2288 or email mgousse@arcbroward.com. For more information and the corresponding forms, please see the Intergenerational Olympics registration packet.

Our garden is growing beautifully. We’ve planted a nice array of flowers and vegetables and the next community garden meeting is taking place on Thursday, August 19th. We’ll discuss expansion and the future of the garden, so if you have any input you’re welcome to attend.

Tomorrow is the final day for scholarship applications, so finish up and get those turned in!

As the NW Family Success Center undergoes rennovations, we may be forced to change the time of our monthly coalition meetings. We’ll be sure to keep you in the loop. On behalf of Building Generations, enjoy what’s left of your summer!

Scholarship, Gardening and more!

Hope you all are enjoying your summer! We’re pleased to announce our Building Generations scholarship is officially up for grabs. It will be awarded to two seniors that have graduated from high schools in Coral Springs that have gone above and beyond to make an impact in our community. If you know of any, please be sure to tell them about this great opportunity! You can find more details regarding eligibility criteria and what to submit on the Scholarship Flier. Also be sure to attach your Application Form. You’ll also be able to pick up hard copies at the library at University and Sample and at our offices at the Northwest Family Success Center. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call 954-761-2121 or email buildinggenerations@arcbroward.com. All applications are due by July 30th.

Our community garden is going strong as well. If you are interested in participating, get in touch with us! There are many different ways you can get involved.

Melissa and Andrew will be attending the National Conference on Volunteering and Service next week, but we’ll be back in time for our monthly Neighborhood Coalition Meeting on Thursday, July 1st at 6:30PM at the Family Success Center with much to present! We look forward to seeing you all there!