Announcing a project to promote the

civic engagement of older immigrants and refugees.

The Civic Engagement for All Initiative

·        How do older immigrants and refugees contribute to their families and communities? 

·        How can non-profit-organizations support and enhance the civic engagement of older immigrants and refugees?

To address these questions, Temple University’s Center for Intergenerational Learning (CIL) has launched a new initiative, Civic Engagement for All.  This new two-phase project seeks to understand and promote the civic engagement of elderly immigrants and refugees.

Established in 1979, CIL develops and replicates model programs and community initiatives that bring people of all ages together to address community needs.  Project SHINE is a model program that builds partnerships to engage college students and older immigrants and refugees in service to their communities, leveraging the resources of individuals, immigrant-serving organizations and institutions of higher education. 

Phase I: Knowledge Building

Funded by the MetLife Foundation

Goal: To increase our understanding of community engagement activities of immigrants and refugees over the age of 50.

·        During the spring of 2007, we conducted 10 focus groups of a total of 99 Chinese, Vietnamese, Liberian, East African, and Central and South American seniors in Philadelphia, PA, Atlanta, GA and Orange County, CA.  We conducted 8 in-depth interviews with elders active in civic engagement activities.

·        We will survey and interview a range of non-profit organizations in the fall of 2007 to learn about challenges and successful strategies in engaging this population.

Phase II: Capacity Building

Funded by the UPS Impact Fund

Goals: To document promising practices and create materials to help organizations mobilize elderly immigrants and refugees and develop compelling community engagement opportunities for seniors.

·        Develop a “train the trainers” program that will help immigrant and refugee-led organizations, volunteer centers and other organizations build the capacity of their members to engage immigrants and refugees in service.

·        Convene representatives from local communities and non-profit organizations to participate in a series of forums to discuss civic engagement potential of older immigrants and refugees and offer feedback on materials developed.