Eisner Prize Awarded to Temple Program

 

 

TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PROGRAM RECEIVES

THE INAUGURAL EISNER PRIZE FOR INTERGENERATIONAL EXCELLENCE

 

$100,000 prize recognizes excellence by non-profit organizations in uniting generations to improve communities

 

(LOS ANGELES, CA  / PHILADELPHIA, PA– October 11, 2011)   Today, The Eisner Foundation (www.eisnerfoundation.org) announced that the Intergenerational Center at Temple University was selected to receive the inaugural $100,000 Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence in recognition of its comprehensive and wide-ranging efforts to unite multiple generations – especially seniors and youth – to bring about positive, lasting changes in communities across Philadelphia and beyond.   The Eisner Foundation will also work with Intergenerational Center to replicate aspects of its program to benefit communities in in Los Angeles, where the Foundation is based.

 

“The Eisner Prize recognizes and helps highlight non-profit organizations geared toward addressing some of society’s most pressing problems using a comprehensive, intergenerational approach, and the Intergenerational Center at Temple University – through programs that support youth development, caregiving for families, and multi-generational education – is the supreme realization of those principles,” said Michael Eisner, founder of the Eisner Foundation.

 

Nancy Henkin, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Intergenerational Institute, said, “We are honored to receive the Eisner Prize. In these challenging times, we can't afford to pit generations against each other or compete for scarce resources. This prize has raised public awareness about the importance of bringing generations together to help solve some of society's most critical problems.”

 

“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. “To that end, The Eisner Prize will be a powerful tool to help identify and reward individuals and organizations that recognize the importance of children and seniors working side-by-side to generate positive results in their communities.”

 

The Eisner Prize is a national award, open to anyone or any group working in the United States.  Earlier this year, 20 semifinalists across the U.S. were selected from hundreds of nominations.  From that group, four finalists were selected as candidates to receive the $100,000 Eisner Prize: DOROT, Inc. of New York City; the Intergenerational Center at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA; and Experience Corps and Generations United, both of Washington, D.C.  A fifth organization, Ebenezer Ridges in Burnsville, Minnesota, secured the fifth finalist spot by garnering 11,000 votes by visitors to the Eisner Foundation’s website.   

 

The 2011 Eisner Prize will be formally presented at the Grantmakers in Agingannual conference in Washington, D.C. on October 27, 2011.

 

About The Intergenerational Center at Temple University (www.templeigc.org)

Created in 1979, the Intergenerational Center at Temple University serves as a national resource for the intergenerational field by coordinating programs and initiatives that bring together youth and seniors to strengthen communities.  To date, over 79,000 individuals of all ages have been involved in more than 25 programs and research initiatives designed to address a wide range of community needs.  Rather than focusing on just one issue, the Intergenerational Center provides an intergenerational lens to confront many of the pressing challenges that face individuals, families and communities such as education, health, youth development, family support, immigration and aging.  Currently, the Center is providing technical assistance andtraining in 54 communities across the country.

 

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 www.eisnerfoundation.org.

 

Media Contacts:

 

Adam Schiff / Sid Dinsay

DKC Public Relations, (212) 685-4300

sid.dinsay@dkcnews.com

 

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