Today, Debbie Weil talks to Encore.org‘s Marci Alboher and Aanchal Dhar about intergenerational collaboration: how it works for them as a GenX and Millennial pair and how connecting different ages can address some of the biggest issues this country is facing right now, from pandemic loneliness to the political divide to the climate crisis.

Marci, Encore’s Vice President of Narrative Change, is 54. Aanchal, Encore’s Communications Strategist for Programs, is 39. The two have been collaborating for seven years in their work for this well-known nonprofit, which is partially responsible for the midlife reinvention movement.

Encore originally focussed on the second half of life.  More recently the group has turned to a focus on bridging divides and connecting generations to create a better future. That’s a big goal. Encore calls it a movement. So Debbie asks Marci and Aanchal, in turn, why it’s so important to bridge the demographic divide in the workplace, in communities, in our personal lives. The answer: connecting different ages, races, and genders creates value. Younger people bring a fresh perspective, seeing things for the first time. Older people have lived through crises and challenges (the unrest of the 60s, for example) and they bring a different lived experience. Together they can solve big problems.

They also talk about “perennials,” a term Debbie loves. It means people with a mindset of being hungry and curious and always wanting to learn regardless of age or generation. Curiosity is key to conversations with those who are different from you. And they talk about civic community, what that means, and why the virtual program Aanchal started has been so important during the pandemic.

Be sure to check out the links to articles Marci and Aanchal have written, as well as to Encore’s many resources and programs.

USEFUL LINKS

• Encore.org
• Marci Alboher on Twitter
• Aanchal Dhar on Twitter
• Sophia Loren’s New Film Shows the Power of Age by Marci Alboher (Next Avenue, Dec. 9, 2020)
• Find Purpose By Connecting Across Generations by Marci Alboher (Greater Good, July 20, 2020)
• How I’m Finding Purpose and Connection in a Pandemic by Aanchal Dhar (Greater Good, May 1, 2020)
• Ten Organizations Connecting Generations During the Pandemic by Aanchal Dhar (Thrive Global, July 15, 2020)
• Meet champion for civic community Aanchal Dhar: “turn anxiety into action”
• Civic Saturday
• How people in their 20s swap clothes with people in their 70s (Marci’s clothing swap written up in The Washington Post, Dec. 9, 2019)
• S1-EP12 of the podcast: Interview with Marc Freedman, Encore’s founder
• The Encore Career Handbook: How to Make a Living and a Difference in the Second Half of Life by Marci Alboher (Workman Publishing, 2012)

Partial List of Encore’s Programs and Resources:

• Encore’s list of pandemic resources (including volunteer opportunities connecting young and old)
• Encore’s Gen2Gen Innovation Fellowship
• Encore’s 2020-2021 Public Voices Fellowship
• Encore’s Gen2Gen Prize
• More Encore resources

Mentioned:

• A Dedicated COVID Vaccine Corps (Newsweek, Jan. 8, 2021)
• What is a Perennial? (term coined by Gina Pell)
• My Life, My Stories
• Maggie Kuhn, founder of the Gray Panthers
• Phyllis Segal
• Charlotte Japp, founder of CIRKEL
• Brittany T. Paschall, founder of We Remember Nashville
• Sarah LaFave, founder of Lori’s Hands

Note from Debbie

I hope you enjoyed this podcast. Would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than sixty seconds, and it really makes a difference in attracting new listeners and upcoming guests. I might read your review on my next episode

– Debbie