Intergenerational Program Database

Members of Grace Church, students from Garden Gate preschool, and residents of Havenside Elderly Housing tend the garden together. Keyword: Shared Site

Started by the Stoughton Youth Commission, there are currently 10 garden plots tended by 10 groups of garden partners (made up of youth, seniors, and family members working together). The idea blossomed when the town decided to place the Stoughton Youth Commission under the same roof at the Stoughton Council on Aging

At Treehouse, children whose lives have been impacted by foster care are being surrounded by people of all ages who care about them and are actively investing in their lives. Designed to support families who are fostering and adopting children from the public foster care system, Treehouse is a caring, multi-generational neighborhood. The community includes twelve family homes with three, four or five bedrooms and 48 one-bedroom cottages designed for seniors. The community has been carefully laid out to insure that families and seniors are interspersed around Treehouse Circle with the Community Center being a central gathering space.

A student organization responding to the profound isolation and social disengagement experienced by people in the intermediate-to-late-stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We build meaningful emotional connections with dementia residents during weekly one-on-one visits

Partners in Rhyme is an intergenerational poetry program where older adults explore poetry with either preschool children or high school students in their classroom. Each student is paired with an adult, and, throughout the six-week program, they work together so relationships can develop. Preschoolers work with their “buddies” to read picture books, complete a structured writing exercise and do a hands-on craft activity. In the process, they develop their phonetic awareness and interaction skills as well as their overall kindergarten readiness. The children invigorate the older adults. High school students read and discuss poetry that is relevant to both age groups. After a lively discussion that focuses on personal responses to a poem, everyone does some reflective and creative writing. The program helps students improve academic and communication skills while cultivating compassion for the growing aging population. Older adults claim that they feel useful and more connected to their community. Keyword: Shared Site

A program for our members to visit and engage seniors in interactive activities and games that encourage dialogue, movement and the expanding of perspectives. For example, girls will read stories to seniors, create holiday-themed projects and engage seniors in drawing comparisons from the past to the present.

The ABCD AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparents Program matches low-Income older adults, ages 55+, with children in schools, after school programs, Head Start centers, preschool, and day care centers to support children with special and exceptional needs. Foster grandparents serve for at least 15 hours per week in classrooms while earning a non taxable stipend and, for those eligible, meal & travel reimbursement. Foster grandparents provide extra care, attention and create meaningful relationships with children in order to improve their physical, mental, emotional and social development so they may grow to reach their maximum potential and become as independent as possible.

Easter Seals Serving DC|MD|VA Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Inter-generational Center has created an intergenerational program, in keeping with the community mission, that is impactful, innovative, and educational. When opposite generations engage, people are able to have more enriching experiences of autonomy, tolerance, acceptance, patience, caring and nurturing. All participants are given the opportunity to improve their cognitive ability, our activities help them to work on social and emotional, language and literacy, and behavioral skills. More overly, our program creates lasting friendships. Our Center improves the quality of life for participants of all ages by providing an opportunity for intergenerational engagement.

The JCA Heyman Interages Center has been dedicated to uniting the generations for over 25 years. The programs engage active older adult volunteers to deliver tutoring and mentoring services to at-risk youth, provide interactive programs for youth and frail elders in senior facilities and connect youth and older adults in various programs that enrich the lives of both generations.

Project SHARE is a program to enrich the lives of health-impaired seniors in adult day care centers and assisted living facilities. Project SHARE (Students Help And Reach Elders) brings children from pre-k through high school to the facilities to enjoy games, craft projects, music and dance programs with the residents. Makeover Madness, a special program of Project SHARE, brings adults from senior facilities to the Thomas Edison High School of Technology for cosmetic services and friendly conversation with the students.