The 2010 National Foster Grandparent Conference will be held in the Windy City of Chicago, Illinois. Help us make more memories by attending this event!

The Westin Chicago Northwest

400 Park Blvd., Itasca, IL 60143

October 22-25, 2010

Click here for a full conference brochure, including information on registration, housing, and contact information.

Click here for the conference registration forms. 

Registration forms are due September 1, 2010.

Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the volunteer conference.

  HISTORY OF THE VOLUNTEERS' TRAINING CONFERENCE

Click here to see pictures and memories made at the 2006 Asheville, North Carolina volunteer conference.

Click here to see pictures and memories made at the 2007 Kansas City volunteer conference.

Click here to see pictures and memories made at the 2008 Oklahoma City volunteer conference.

Click here to see pictures and memories made at the 2009 Jackson, Mississippi volunteer conference.

The conference was started by Foster Grandparent Directors in Texas, with the support of Dr. Ben Dickerson of Stephen F. Austin University in the mid-1970s.  It was created to provide innovative educational workshops, a venue for volunteers to collaborate with other Foster Grandparents from throughout the region, and an opportunity for Foster Grandparents to be recognized for their unique contributions to children.  While the conferences are designed to offer opportunities to learn and grow, they occur in an environment of affirmation and joy.

Initially entitled The Foster Grandparent Jamboree, soon the name Woody Cooper was attached in honor of the FGP Director from Lufkin, TX who was and continues to be, one of the conference's greatest supporters.  For at least 28 years, until his health no longer allowed, Woody was present and leading every conference - especially the fun portions!

The inaugural event was located on the campus of Stephen F. Austin University but soon began being coordinated from Baylor University.   Under the direction of Connie Beran and Carol Pote, gerontology students planned the training sessions and the recognition components of the conference. The conference was held on university campuses across the south through 1998.  In those years, the volunteers packed their own bedding and towels to stay in college dorms.  Once hotels were introduced there was no going back to communal showers.

Times and lives change and by 2003 most of the Baylor University staff were no longer associated with Baylor but continued their involvement with the Foster Grandparent Jamboree as their professional commitments allowed.  It was at this time that those programs with loyal attendees began to take responsibility for hosting the conferences.   Location sites were determined informally and amongst the FGP Directors. Dedicated Directors like Neva Jones and Mary Lynn Smith helped put together conferences in places like Shreveport, LA and Biloxi, MS.

In 2005, Dr. Dickerson and Connie Beran decided that that years conference would have to be the last one they coordinated.   The future of the conference looked bleak until Mississippi FGP Directors recruited their good friend and supporter for many years, Dr. Paul Cotten of William Carey University.   With degrees in Psychology, Gerontology and Music, Dr. Cotten's skills and expertise proved to be invaluable resources. His taking over the coordination of the conferences was the culmination of 30+ years of mutual admiration and respect between Dr. Cotten and the FGP.   

The National Association of Foster Grandparent Program Directors (NAFGPD), seeing the need to create additional conference style training opportunities in strategic locations across the country by making it affordable and feasible for any Foster Grandparent to participate, approached the 2009 conference organizers and requested a partnership to produce the 2010 conference.  The Core Planning Committee for the 2010 Foster Grandparent Training Conference is comprised of veteran FGP Directors with many years of "Conference Going and Hosting" experience, and also composed of members of the NAFGPD Board of Directors.  The Core Committee is supported by local programs and agencies of the Chicago area to assure local arrangement and supports are in place.

It is the goal of the 2010 Conference to offer a high quality training experience that also celebrates the Foster Grandparent Programs' 45th anniversary (this is the 37th Anniversary of the Training Conference) . Additionally, we hope to produce a "How To" manual for future regional and national conferences, use portions of the conference as a recruitment tool for younger volunteers, use the opportunity to gain critical evaluation from sources outside of our program, and to bring national attention to the fact that low income Foster Grandparents have a federal mandate for training but no mechanism or funding for that training experience to occur outside their local area. We feel this prevents many volunteers from receiving the innovative training they need to make their volunteer experience the absolute best that it can be.

Aside from a small grant from the ACTION Agency in the 1970s, the conference has been funded by the efforts of the Foster Grandparents volunteers who value the experience to the extent they are willing to personally take responsibility to pay for their own participation.  Some states allowed programs to charge various conference expenses to their federal grant, but until 2010 there was never a clear directive of allowable expenses from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS).  Due to the support of Acting Senior Corp Director Angela Roberts and Chief of Program Operations Kristin McSwain, that directive now clearly states that CONFERENCE ATTENDANCE is an ALLOWABLE use of GRANT FUNDS.

People ask, The Chicago Conference. Is that the old Woody Cooper Conference?  The answer is yes as well as no.  Several years ago the name of the conference was changed to The National Foster Grandparent Conference to reflect its' broadening scope and national appeal.  However, old habits are hard to break and those of us that advocated the most for the name to be changed find that we still talk about going to the Jamboree.  No matter the name, however, it is the same grass roots vision and passion for service that inspired Woody Cooper, Dr Dickerson, Dr. Cotten,  hundreds of program directors ,and the thousands of conference attendees participating for 37 years that inspires the current conference. Despite many odds, we have been pleased to offer this unique and invaluable experience to the most unique of all volunteers .. .Foster Grandparents.