Tropical Gardens

NANAY Holds Intergenerational Program at Fairchild Tropical Gardens

October 11, 2006

Miami, Florida –

NANAY, South Florida’s premier non-profit organization that promotes the health and well being of elders, youth and the community, will be co-hosting an exciting intergenerational program at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, Florida on Thursday, October 26, 2006.

NANAY’s seniors will share their knowledge of exotic international plants and flowers with middle school youth, as part of Fairchild Tropical Gardens’ Intergenerational Program. The seniors will join the conversation with middle school students and discuss their personal or historical associations with plants, i.e., any past medicinal uses, favorite cultural food preparations, or plants growing in their gardens. Some seniors also are planning to bring plants and/or pictures of plants from their native countries.

Fairchild staff will arrange for bus transportation to bring the seniors from the NANAY Community Center to the Fairchild Tropical Gardens and back, so they can meet with the students, conduct interviews and eat lunch together. Over the last five years, Fairchild Tropical Gardens has facilitated interviews with the seniors from Southwest Social Services Program, Inc., the Haitian American Senior Center and Miami-Dade middle school students through its Green Treasures/ Fairchild Challenge Program.

This new initiative was an outcome of the meeting between NANAY’s Governing Board and Lily Prado, Director, Public Service Department of WSVN-Channel 7, who met on August 23, 2006 to discuss how they could work together as partners in promoting community service and events.

“We are excited about this new program that will undoubtedly enhance interaction and communication between youth and elders while also promoting their knowledge about tropical plants,” says Dr. Joy Bruce, Founding President and CEO of NANAY.

It is also in line with NANAY’s vision for its new Magic Johnson Community Empowerment Center as well as the newly forged partnership between NANAY Community Development Corporation (NANAY CDC) and the Carrie P. Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center, a major outreach center of Miami Dade Community College that provides the necessary education and training programs to build the skill sets and individual capacity for aspiring entrepreneurs

For more information about NANAY and its services, please call: 305 981-3232.

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