Why We Do It

Our Mission

Empowering the Ages strengthens social-emotional well-being, provides life skills, and creates connections across generations to provide older and younger people with a sense of belonging and purpose.

Specifically –
We work in the Greater Washington DC area in the critical spaces of school readiness, civic engagement, and workforce development through developing mutually beneficial connections between children, youth, families, and older adults.

Our Vision

Communities where people from all generations contribute to each other’s well-being, feel connected and are valued for their unique skills and perspectives.

Our Values

  • Community – We know that communities are stronger when all people are valued for their strengths, abilities and contributions.

  • Relationships – We believe mutually beneficial relationships empower all generations.

  • Innovation – We look for ways to be nimble and evolve in order to best meet the needs of all generations in often fragile and changing conditions.

  • Partnerships – We work with individuals and groups to address problems using creative solutions.

  • Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity – We believe that being inclusive and consciously committed to equity and diversity is essential to communities and individuals reaching their full potential.

Our Method

  • Identify a well-documented challenge in the community.

  • Address the challenge through creation of affordable, pivotal, and empowering programming.

  • Train and mobilize volunteers to increase impact and make programs economically viable.

  • Nurture on-going, transformational relationships and connections across generations.

  • Evaluate to systematically assess how well we are achieving our goals.

Goals (Strategic Plan 2023-2025)

GOAL 1. Children/youth and their families will have new opportunities to engage with volunteers aged 50 and older through school engagement, civic engagement, and workforce development programming.

GOAL 2. Individuals aged 50 and older will have new volunteer opportunities to use their knowledge and skills to support children/youth and their families in the community.

GOAL 3. Educate individuals, organizations, and government on the critical importance of utilizing an intergenerational strategy to solve community challenges.

GOAL 4. ETA will be well-funded and function organizationally with the highest standards of skill, transparency, and accountability.