Intergenerational Program Database

RSVP Kenosha mentoring program places RSVP volunteers in elementary and middle schools. They serve as role models and spend time once a week with their mentees in the classroom

At the Fernandez Center for Alternative Learning RSVP Workshop Mentoring Program, RSVP volunteers are making a difference with at-risk students by helping them discover the joy of learning through the use of power tools. Students learn about safety and complete basic woodworking projects. This "hands-on" type of learning also increases the students' self-esteem and confidence and instills a sense of pride in accomplishments. The volunteers provide a supportive environment by being patient and by understanding that the students have varying abilities and learn at different rates. The real benefit of this program is the mentoring and bonding that takes place between student and volunteer.

RSVP Reading Tutor program began in 1998 as a national initiative to ensure that every child reads well and independently by the end of third grade. Since the beginning, volunteers have been reading with first and second grade children in various schools. Most volunteers read with children for 90 minutes once a week. The attention of a caring volunteer results in students not only improving their reading scores on standardized tests, but also increasing their self-esteem as they become more confident readers.

America Reads is a national program to assure that all students are able to read at grade level by third grade. Volunteers spend time each week with Kindergarten through Third Grade students in one-on-one and small group settings. Volunteers are grouped in teams for orientation, training, recognition and support.

Contributions of Different Cultures are half day and whole day events where students and seniors are brought together to share and learn from each other. Through hands-on activities, music, and food preparation students are taught an oral history lesson. Folk Fairs help to demonstrate and preserve our community and appreciation of the past. Hundreds of adults and thousands of students participate in our Folk Fairs every year.

Intergenerational Multi-Arts Program (IMAP) brings together students from Milwaukee schools and older adults from assisted living and adult day programs. The focus is to build community between intergenerational groups through the creative arts. The IMAP curriculum approaches intergenerational relationship-building from the theory that communities that share traditions and communicate through positive creative expression will be stronger and more connected.

Clement Avenue students interacted with talented seniors at the spring Intergenerational Fair woodworking, staining…Milwaukee Public Schools.

Hope & A Future currently operate a licensed Adult Family Home for frail seniors with live in interegenerational staff. We sponsor activities open to the surrounding community--including a monthly pot-luck and house concerts, quilting and exercise groups. Attendee age range is infants to 100 year olds. Grounds, garden and construction volunteer opportunities brought over 300 people of all ages in 2015. We are activily working on plans to build housing for independent seniors and young families interested in mentoring and support. This development is for people interested in intentional community and includes shared green space and a community building offering intergenerational services and fun! Here everyone helps and is helped while living, playing, working and dying in community. Keyword: Shared Site

A service learning program for youth ages 11 to 15, the Buddy Program is an educational mentoring project aimed at strengthening intergenerational relations and increasing respect for diversity. Run in collaboration with the Milwaukee County Department on Aging and local schools, the program connects youth with older adults and people with disabilities in Milwaukee area senior centers. The youth are involved in activities designed to re-enforce compassion and create a caring, peaceful community. The youth practice skills needed for future jobs, enhance their self-esteem, develop social skills and break down generational barriers through mutual respect and understanding. Intergenerational activities include assisting with lunch, reading stories, playing games, creating art, sharing life stories and participating in spiritual formation. Keyword: Shared Site

This is a summer collaborative class including high school students from Milwaukee Public Schools and adult clients at St. Ann Center’s Bucyrus Campus. Together students and adults focus on creating art, utilizing technology, interviewing skills, and building relationships between generations. High school students introduce the adults to the basics of computer use and the Internet. In addition, they interview clients to gather life stories that are translated into art projects and memoir books which are given to each client participating in the program. The students get a chance to practice face-to-face communication with people from different cultures and generations. Adults get a chance to tell their life stories and share memories that serve has history lessons for the students. Keyword: Shared Site