Generations United's Seniors4Kids is a civic engagement initiative that demonstrates the important role older adults can play in support of issues directly benefitting children and youth.  We help adults age 50+ create statewide networks of community leaders and grassroots volunteers that raise the visibility of older adults in support of high-quality early care and education. Currently, we work to increase access to, and improve the quality of, pre-kindergarten programs.

Seniors4Kids Goals:

• Increase public and political awareness of the powerful role older adults play in child advocacy.
• Present an effective advocacy model for older adult engagement on behalf of children’s issues.
• Provide materials and training for state and local organizations to implement effective programs connecting older adults and children and youth.

Seniors4Kids:

• Develops and implements state and issue specific advocacy models (campaigns) for older adults advocating on behalf of youth and children.
• Commissions and issues state and issue specific signature reports on the policy impact both for and of older adults.
• Provides training and technical assistance to state and local organizations seeking to develop programs connecting older adults with children and youth.
• Highlights quality issue-specific programmatic models for older adult and youth engagement.
• Connects older adult advocates with issue-specific programs for further civic engagement.

Seniors4Kids is now operating in Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. It has operated in recent years in Florida and Ohio.

"Investing in early childhood education is more likely to create a vibrant economy than using public funds to lure sports teams by building a new stadium or to attract an automaker by providing tax breaks."

--Arthur Rolnick, economist and senior vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis

 "The best evidence suggests that learning begets learning and early investments in learning are effective. -- Cost-effective returns are highest for the young."

 --James Heckman, economist and Nobel Laureate