The Eisner Foundation Announces Finalists For The Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, The Eisner Foundation (www.eisnerfoundation.org) announced the selection of five finalists for the $150,000 Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence, which recognizes an individual or a non-profit organization for efforts to unite multiple generations – especially seniors and youth – and bring about positive, lasting changes in their communities.  The winner of the Eisner Prize will be announced on October 9, 2013 in Los Angeles. 

"The Eisner Foundation exists to provide access and opportunity for disadvantaged children and the aging and is dedicated to improving communities with intergenerational programming," said founder, Michael Eisner.  "The Eisner Prize allows us to honor organizations nationwide that share our mission, and it serves as a catalyst for a national conversation on how much good can be done when children and seniors unite under a common cause."

The Eisner Prize is a national award, open to any person or any non-profit organization working in the United States.  Hundreds of nominations were submitted for consideration, from which these five finalists have been selected: Bridge Meadows of Portland, Ore., Encore Fellowships Network of San Francisco, Calif., the New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra of New Providence, N.J., the Motion Picture and Television Fund's Media Center of Los Angeles, Calif., and the Intergenerational School of Cleveland, Ohio.  In addition to being selected as finalists, these five organizations will each win a $10,000 cash award and be considered as a candidate for the $150,000 2013 Eisner Prize.

"As a nation, our most daunting challenges require complex solutions involving the participation of all of our society's citizens, and not just singular groups working singularly," said Trent Stamp, Executive Director of The Eisner Foundation.  "The Eisner Prize is our attempt to identify and reward those individuals and organizations that recognize the importance of different generations, particular children and seniors, working side-by-side to facilitate positive changes in their communities."

The winner of the 2012 Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence, the AARP Experience Corps, matches the experience and talent of thousands of older Americans with elementary schools and is the only national program that provides an intensive level of reading intervention from older volunteers within a standardized practice.  With the funding awarded to them, the AARP Experience Corps expanded their volunteer recruitment and started a program in the Chicago Public Schools.

The winner of the 2013 Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence will be announced at the California Community Foundation's Unsung Heroes event in October at Club Nokia at L.A. Live.

The finalists are listed as follows – please click on their names to visit their sites and to learn more about the excellent and diverse intergenerational programming each presents.

Bridge Meadows (Portland, Ore.)
http://www.bridgemeadows.org
Bridge Meadows is a unique multi-generational community located in the Portsmouth neighborhood of North Portland. Adoptive parents, foster children, and elders - those over 55 - find a true home built with love and the shared vision of a better tomorrow. Children move from the instability of foster care placements to permanent homes and families. Parents receive essential resources and guidance, while elders find safe, affordable housing and an opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of families and their children.

Encore Fellowships Network (San Francisco, Calif.)
http://www.encore.org/fellowships 
The Encore Fellows program is one of the largest and fastest growing sources of skilled, mature talent aimed at solving major social problems and tapping the opportunity for intergenerational learning and joint problem solving.  Encore Fellowships are designed to deliver new sources of talent to organizations solving critical social problems. These paid, time-limited Fellowships match skilled, experienced professionals with social-purpose organizations in high-impact assignments. In 2013, 200 Encore Fellows, professionals with at least 25 years of experience, many over 65, will serve over 200,000 hours in hundreds of local non-profits and public agencies.

New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra (New Providence, N.J.)
http://www.njio.org/ 
The New Jersey Intergenerational Orchestra brings together the young and old by providing orchestral education and performance opportunities to musicians of all ages and skill levels in a nurturing but artistically challenging environment.  Participants in NJIO learn that music is a life-long activity.  Senior members look forward to rehearsals and concerts and exhibit great pride in their performance.  Young people develop lasting relationships with people outside their peer group while having opportunities for community service through outreach concerts offered to schools and senior centers. 

Motion Picture & Television Fund's Media Center (Los Angeles, Calif)
http://www.mptf.com/channel22 
The MPTF's Media Center is a model of senior engagement that marries creativity with technology, incorporating the involvement of multiple generations.  Recognizing that the urge to create never goes away, the Media Center pairs older adults with high school and college volunteers who share their diverse film experience spanning generations to create meaningful content together to be shown on their own internal television channel. 

The Intergenerational School (Cleveland, Ohio)
http://www.tisonline.org/ 
The Intergenerational School brings together youth and elders in a one-of-a-kind learning environment that not only supports academic excellence for the young students but promotes life skills for students as well as lifelong learning for elders with physical or cognitive limitations. The school connects the entire community in a meaningful way.  Elder mentors help in the classroom with academic skills and students visit local assisted living centers. 

About The Eisner Foundation

Founded in 1996 by Michael and Jane Eisner and their family, The Eisner Foundation exists to provide access and opportunity for children and the aging in Los Angeles County. The Foundation gives philanthropic support and counsel to exceptionally-run non-profit organizations working to create lasting positive changes in the lives of at-risk and disadvantaged seniors and children in the Los Angeles community. By making grants of over $7 million annually, the goal of The Eisner Foundation is simply to help Los Angeles be a place that protects and nurtures the region's most vulnerable citizens. To learn more about The Eisner Foundation, please visit the organization's website at www.eisnerfoundation.org, as well as https://www.facebook.com/EisnerFoundation, https://twitter.com/EisnerFound, http://www.youtube.com/user/TheEisnerFoundation, and http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-eisner-foundation.

SOURCE The Eisner Foundation