What You Can Do

Individuals

• Go back to school.  Area colleges provide adult education and training for jobs in growing fields. Champlain College, the University of Vermont, and Community College of Vermont all offer continuing professional education opportunities.

• Learn new skills.  A number of job training organizations offer you the opportunity to learn skills for a new career.  For example, Vermont HITEC has information technology training programs.   Vermont Works for Women provides job training for non-traditional careers.The Vermont Department of Labor maintains a list of job training programs.
  

• Find an affordable home.  The Champlain Housing Trust and Vermont Housing Finance Agency can help you, rent, share, buy and finance a home.

• Join a Circle of Support.  Through this Neighborkeepers program,  volunteer allies coach community members to create sustainable, supportive friend networks that direct families and individuals toward the resources they need to improve health, get training and education, find jobs, and discover a sense of purpose and belonging.

• Be a mentor.  Mobius , Spectrum Youth and Family Services, Mercy Connections and the Chittenden County Mentoring Network can connect you with community based, school based, and site based mentoring programs.
  

•  Interview a grandparent about what life was like for them growing up. National Public Radio's StoryCorps project has resources and questions to help you conduct and record your interview.

• If you are young, consider volunteering in a senior assisted living home.  If you are older, volunteer in your local school.  The United Way of Chittenden County’s Volunteer Connection offers a variety of opportunities, including the Foster Grandparent Program.

• Participate in Burlington's Social Equity Investment Project, which addresses ethnic and culturally diverse issues that impact the quality of life for all communities.

• Share your home. Through HomeShare Vermont, seniors needing help around the house can connect a younger person in need of affordable housing.  

• Connect with someone who comes from another country.  The Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program needs people to host new Americans coming to this country.

Businesses & Organizations

• Join the businesses participating in the Working Bridges project.  The group is developing best practices to help businesses of all sizes hire, retain and advance low to moderate income employees and maximize the effectiveness of an economically diverse workforce.

• Provide opportunities for mentoring in the workplace.  Mentors share their knowledge and build strong interpersonal relationships that encourage intergenerational and cultural understanding.  Older workers can mentor their new colleagues, and vice versa.  "Mutual Mentoring Across the Generations" explains the benefits.  The Institute for Work and the Economy's "Integrating Immigrants into the Workplace" initiative also has excellent resources.

• Provide flexible scheduling for your employees’ health care and wellness needs.  Also, offer flexible employment opportunities for older workers.  This creates a group of experienced people who may be retired but are willing to work during peak periods or on special projects.  Forbes.com has information about helping companies increase productivity and retain workers.

• Learn how other employers encourage creativity and non-traditional learning in their workplaces.
  

Communities

• Host an oral history event to share stories about your community's past and imagine its future. See the Intergenerational Programs and Aging at Penn State University and Intergenerational Activities, a program of the United States Environmental Protection Agency for intergenerational efforts focused on environmental protection.
  

• Host multicultural events that encourage learning and sharing between cultures. For example, Winooski hosts monthly community potluck dinners at the O'Brien Community Center.