Manhattan, NY Inspir Carnegie Hill, a senior living residence on the Upper East Side, honored Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service with a cross-generational dinner, where the 18 guests in attendance ranged from ages 12 years old to 98.

Inspir organized the event in conjunction with “Generations Over Dinner” and Sweet Readers, a nonprofit dedicated to building enriched communities that integrate multiple generations and encourage students to become catalysts for change. Generations Over Dinner was created by Modern Elder Academy’s Chip Conley, funded by AGE (a nonprofit for the Association of Growth and Education), and Michael Hebb, founder of Death Over Dinner. They are thrilled to be supported by fantastic organizations like Argentum and AmeriCorps.

Along with Inspir residents Sy Molinoff, Marilyn Harrison and Mitchell Brown, the dinner party brought together NYC-area middle and high school students, activists, teachers, educators and others, with every generation represented from Gen Z to the Silent Generation. Topics ranged from climate change, public policy and education reform, to aging, addiction and technology. “The dinner was a huge success and was beloved by our residents and the kids alike,” said Thamara Barbosa-Tirri, general manager at Inspir. “The idea was to foster a sense of belonging and understanding among all generations, combat ageism, spark unique conversations and build key relationships across the age continuum – and that’s precisely what happened.”

Guests were prompted to share some generational misconceptions as well as describe their visions and hope for the future. New York City sixth-grader and Sweet Reader Jessie shared that, “a misconception about my generation is that we don’t talk and we aren’t good conversationalists. People think we are always on our phones, but we do talk and we are great at conversing! We just also like to hold our phones while we talk!” Manhattan Boomer Wendy Hashmall (also Marilyn’s daughter) said the misconception about her generation is that “we are all bad with technology,” while Sy, the Inspir resident in his 90s, said his peers are often incorrectly disparaged as closed-minded. He hoped the younger generations would not forget the lessons of the past as they embrace their bold new futures.

A core tenet of Inspir’s program is to promote its residents’ wellness - defined as beyond their physical well-being and stretching into their emotional and intellectual state as well. Inspir has curated an environment and lifestyle that supports the philosophy of living a vibrant, intentional and meaningful life through thought-provoking events, activities and programs for its residents.

“Our dinner proved that passionate and impactful conversation can be sparked with individuals who are willing to open their eyes, ears, and hearts to those that they perceive as different, but who might not be so different after all,” said Evan Rossi, director of resident experience at Inspir.

And what’s a dinner party without wonderful food? Indeed, attendees were wowed when they tasted chef Josh’s creative menu which included Kolby Beef and caramelized Bermuda onion sliders, roasted pear and goat cheese salad, and a lobster ceviche with julienne of vegetables. A few Boomers at the table even exclaimed, “I am ready to move in! Where can I sign up?”