Intergenerational Program Database

The GrandPals program is a learning and reading program pairing older adults with students in the Princeton Regional Schools. Senior volunteers read to kindergartners at Littlebrook and Riverside Schools to encourage a love of reading and to develop intergenerational friendships.

RSVP of Monmouth County has two intergenerational programs. Volunteers read to the same small groups of students each week throughout the school year using a read-aloud format that augments the school’s regular reading curriculum. Healthy Buddies partners senior volunteers with students, grades 3-5, to help them develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors needed to maintain and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

The Senior Citizen Prom was initiated in 2007 to provide students with the experience of service to elders, and a social opportunity to interact with elders of their community. The Senior Citizen Prom is one of a number of district initiatives that integrate the senior community into the school community, and provide needed resources to a generation that has provided life-long support to the public school district. Other opportunities for senior citizens at West Orange High School include free performances of the fall play and spring musical, a holiday luncheon and computer classes.

For 24 years the Livingston Board of Education, Livingston Township Council and Livingston High School Key Club has hosted an intergenerational prom for high school students and seniors.

Parents Anonymous of New Jersey, Father Time, and Bridgeton Municipal Alliance's youth to youth members spent Martin Luther King weekend serving soup to seniors at the Oakview Heights apartments and RiverWalk Senior Apartments. The groups also donated materials for pillows and blankets and distributed them out to the seniors. A news article about our 2012 event: http://www.nj.com/cumberland/index.ssf/2012/01/bridgeton_youth_serve_soup_to.html

The Intergenerational School Breakfast Program (ISBP) traditionally pairs adult volunteers with young children, pre-kindergarten through the third grade, during the school breakfast program. Volunteers serve as role models, reading storybooks to the children and teaching them about the importance of good nutrition and eating breakfast. Some of the sites have a senior volunteers only stipulation

The Friendship Center is an intergenerational child care facility that  incorporates senior citizens from Heath Village, the adjacent retirement community, into its child care programs. Senior volunteers assist the center's professional staff by teaching Bible stories and foreign languages, conducting nature walks, providing musical accompaniment, reading stories, and supervising craft and woodworking projects. Heath Village residents join with the children for special events and holiday celebrations, and pair off with them to be pen pals. Most important, the Heath Village residents who share in the Friendship Center's activities bring their maturity and love of children to help create a warm, caring Christian environment, giving children the feel of a large extended family. Keyword: Shared Site

You can change a life by providing the individual attention that helps children build confidence and success. Opportunities are available in Kennetth A. Brett Elementary School and 18 other U. S. cities. OASIS volunteer tutors are paired with children in grades K-3 who would benefit from a one-on-one mentoring relationship. Tutors are trained to work with kids using a proven approach to literacy that emphasizes reading, talking and writing. They meet with their students at least once a week throughout the school year, providing a caring, supportive environment where reading and language activities, keyed to the child’s interests, spark curiosity and learning.

Interactive experiences between local youth and residents of the Home include activities such as the Mentoring Group, which makes biweekly trips to nearby Winnisquam Middle School for conversations and activities with the students, and weekly visits to the Home by older students from the Tilton School for games, crafts and recreational activities such as volleyball and bowling adapted to the physical challenges of the residents. Gilford High School and Middle School are also regular visitors to the Home, and the New Hampton School, which brings international students eager to practice their English skills while interacting with the residents.

Intergenerational programming is a natural fit at Easterseals since the Child Developmental Center and the Adult Day Program share the same site. The program uses the power of art, music, dance, literature, and drama to achieve a variety of therapeutic objectives that are beneficial to both children and the elderly. The Intergenerational Program has become an important component of how Easter Seals works with its children and seniors. Keyword: Shared Site