 Hello, Friends!
The Age-Friendly Minnesota (AFMN) Council will be awarding a second round of grants in 2024 and is seeking individuals to serve on an application review committee. Please click on the link below if you would like to be considered as a reviewer.
Link to the interest form
AFMN Plans Second Round of Grants for 2024
AFMN anticipates issuing requests for proposals (RFPs) for its second round of age-friendly grants in 2024. Visit our Grants page for more information.
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The Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging is hosting a who's who convening of statewide leaders.
This year you are invited to be a part of the dynamic conversations spanning experiences of older adults from diverse communities and the shared policy work ahead in the 2024 Legislative Session.
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Learn about how you can inform a new 10-year multi-sector plan for an age-friendly Minnesota, a Legislative Task Force on Aging report, and a bold initiative to reframe aging throughout this powerful program. Four CEUs will be available for licensed professionals.
We need your voice at the table, so sign up now for the Summit.
Survey: Building Organizational Capacity for Nature Opportunities for Older Adults in Minnesota – Responses requested by 12/31/23:
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With support from an Age-Friendly Minnesota Community Grant, we are gathering information for a statewide report about older adults and nature in Minnesota.
This survey is intended for organizations, volunteer groups, or anyone providing nature-based opportunities in Minnesota for people 55+ years of age. Please only complete one survey per organization. Your input and ideas are key to doing this well.
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Please complete the survey no later than December 31, 2023. Surveys returned by this deadline will be entered into a lottery for five $20 VISA gift cards. You will also be included in further communication and opportunities regarding the topic and contribute to the growth of this important field.
Email questions to Joelle Hoeft, joellehoeft@gmail.com.
Thank you in advance for sharing your time, information, and perspectives!
We encourage you to share this survey with other organizations in Minnesota who deliver programs to older adults that include nature.
SURVEY LINK: https://forms.gle/hc3rsbCErCFjK9vY7
or QR code:
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Thanks to an Age-Friendly Minnesota Grant and additional support from the Community Healthcare Auxiliary, the Region 4 South Mental Health Consortium, and a Thrivent Action Plan Grant, students in West Central Area schools (ISD 2342) have been able to visit four area senior living facilities in Grant and Douglas Counties. The intergenerational activities build connection between youth and older adults. |
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Students from several different grade levels get to visit Hoffman Senior Living, Maplewood Manor, the Barrett Care Center and the Hoffman Senior Center on a weekly basis, with fifteen different visits during the months of October and November.
 Stuff and Fluff Activity
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The smiles have been plentiful, and both residents and students benefit from the visiting and shared memories.
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Board Game Activity
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Highlights so far this year include sharing West Central Area history through yearbooks and community anniversary journals, creating Stuff-N-Fluff animals, playing board games, playing Bingo, making crafts, decorating cookies, trick or treating, packing boxes for Operation Christmas, and decorating for Christmas.
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DHS, Division of Grants, Equity, Access, and Research (GEAR) is reaching out to organizations that work with New Americans. GEAR is interested in understanding your organization’s activities, relationships, and experiences in assisting New Americans. Specifically, the GEAR team would like insights into how you support New Americans in securing employment, undergoing training, and accessing education as they transition and build their lives in their new country.
Background
The 2023 Minnesota legislative session established the New American Legal, Social Services, and Long-Term Care Workforce Grant Program, which will, in part, provide specialized services and supports to new Americans to enter the long-term care (LTC) workforce. This one-time appropriation of $28 million dollars is to be spent in SFY 24-27.
Allowable uses of the grant funding include specialized activities to support recruitment and connection of New Americans to LTC employment opportunities, including:
• developing connections to employment with LTC employers and potential employees;
• providing recruitment, training, guidance, mentorship, and other support services necessary to encourage employment, employee retention, and successful community integration;
• providing career education, wraparound support services, and job skills training in high-demand health care and LTC fields; and
• paying for program expenses related to long-term care professions, including but not limited to hiring instructors and navigators, space rentals, and supportive services to help participants attend classes including but not limited to:
▪ course fees
▪ childcare costs
▪ transportation costs
▪ tuition fees.
▪ financial coaching fees.
▪ mental health supports; and
▪ uniform costs incurred as a direct result of participating in classroom instruction or training; or
▪ repaying student loan debt directly incurred as a result of pursuing a qualifying course of study or training.
The session law defines a “New American” as an individual born abroad and the individual’s children, irrespective of immigration status.
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