A growing search for wisdom of the elders

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, January, 2008 | by Lini S. Kadaba Inquirer Staff Writer

For several years, a local initiative based at Temple University has captured the energy and expertise of many of the area's elders by connecting them to nonprofits. Now, a $1.8 million grant over three years will allow Coming of Age to take its model on the road and replicate it around the country.

"There's a recognition that people age 50-plus are a tremendous resource for our nation, our communities," Dick Goldberg, director of the initiative, said yesterday as he announced the grant. It is from the Atlantic Philanthropies, an international foundation based in Bermuda that billionaire American philanthropist Charles Feeney began. The grant will allow Coming of Age to bring programs to eight communities (still to be chosen) around the country - programs such as...