Intergenerational Program Database

The Early Discoveries child care center and Day Haven adult day services are located at this site. Each day another classroom of preschoolers is invited to visit the “grandma’s and grandpa’s" for some special time together. Teachers and elder care staff work together to design activities that are both meaningful and purposeful for both children and elders.

The Magic Moments program uniquely blends two groups of people who are often marginalized in American society: developmentally challenged teenagers and nursing home residents who have dementia. Through the program, which runs daily from 9:30 am to 11:45 am, the students assist Nursing and Therapeutic Recreation staff by setting up a resident lounge with games such as beanbag and/or ball toss and various art projects. The students model their interactions on those of the professional staff, working as a team, co-leading activities, encouraging residents to participate, and serving them refreshments. The Magic Moments program has pioneered a way for these young people with developmental challenges to provide direct support and encouragement to residents who have dementia, taking them from behind the scenes into the spotlight.

Our Folks is a program of Groundwork Hudson Valley in Yonkers, NY, where teens survey older homeowners, identify needed yard and household repairs, and carry out improvements. Around 20 youth and 25 older adults each year participate in this program. One goal is to bridge the generation gap by bringing people together over shared projects and shared lunches, which the students and homeowners prepare and eat together. Another part of the program is the "food team," which trains older adults to conduct cooking demonstrations of healthy foods in afterschool programs and at community events. Through ComNET, Groundwork organizes teams consisting of teens and senior citizens — and a few in-betweeners — to identify problems that need fixing. The problems are logged, along with the exact GPS location, into hand-held computers. Then, back at the office, Groundwork staff collate the problems into detailed reports that are then forwarded to the appropriate Yonkers government official and monitored to ensure that the problems are remedied.

Youth Connect is a youth led community service initiative with several different programs. "Project Touch" is an intergenerational community service group that connects neighborhood youth to senior centers and elderly clients so that they can come together in a variety of activities, including meal sharing and shopping. Youth provide shopping escort services, light housekeeping, and companionship to frail, homebound elderly clients. In another program, blind/visually impaired youth join sighted youth to plan and lead recreational and social activities for blind/visually impaired seniors.

The North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center features a computer cafe and community rooms, North Domingo also boasts a fitness room, classrooms, and meals. It serves youth, seniors and the community.

OASIS Tutoring is an in-school, curriculum-based literacy program that pairs older adult volunteer tutors with children in grades K-3 who have been identified as academically at risk because they are reading below grade level. New tutors complete 12 hours of training in the OASIS approach to literacy. Children are selected by their teachers and are paired with OASIS tutors. The tutor training and OASIS session plans are designed to align with state learning standards. Tutors work one-on-one with students, making a commitment to work with a child at least once a week for a full school year. The tutor reads quality literature with the child, writes the child’s thoughts in an OASIS journal, the student reads his/her journal entries, and they practices skill building activities such as letter or word recognition and vocabulary exploration. OASIS tutors offer the one-on-one support that classroom teachers would like to provide to individual s tudents – but they don’t have time for during the school day. In this literacy-based mentoring program, one-on-one OASIS tutoring sessions with a caring older adult also build confidence and self-esteem, forming the foundation for a better attitude toward reading and language arts and improved academic performance.

The Continuum creates a positive and healing experience that recognizes each person for their special, unique abilities by utilizing an approach of community, combining the wisdom and experience of age with the energy and curiosity of youth. We celebrate diversity, applying it as a tool to foster healing while enhancing the quality of life for our clients and their families. Participants in the Continuum’s ReGeneration’s Adult Day Club interact with preschoolers in the Carousel Learning Center.

VISIONS Intergenerational Program recruits, trains and employs high school students to assist blind seniors in their homes, and at Selis Manor. The youth provide escort and assistance with reading, shopping, and technology. VISONS Caregiver project supports family, partners, and friends who help a senior with vision loss. Overnight respite at VCB and day respite at Selis Manor are provided.

The GCD Program is an intergenerational afterschool program that integrates at-risk youth into the long-term care setting. During the school year, students spend 8-10 hours each week at JHL participating in academic support, college preparation, healthcare career preparation, and life skills counseling. Students interact with the elders in a one-to-one mentoring relationship, on nursing communities in a clinical role and in elder social circles hosting group activities for each nursing unit.

QCH's Neighborhood Intergenerational Chore and Errand (N.I.C.E.) Program serves both youth and senior citizens in our community. In this program, youth perform shopping, laundry, and errands for homebound frail seniors. They also share relevant information and discuss pertinent current events with the senior clients as part of their visit. In addition youth work in local senior centers and nursing homes assisting these institutions in areas such as transportation, arts and recreation. Our program currently serves over sixty seniors with limited mobility and hundreds of other senior citizens as well. The seniors receive a needed service to enhance their quality of life while teens are provided with employment, job training and life skills development. The N.I.C.E. Intergenerational Program takes two seemingly separate populations and helps them realize their commonalities. The relationship building that occurs allows for enhanced self-esteem, and a better understanding of each generation for both age groups.