Intergenerational Program Database

CATCH brings children and adults age 50+ together to learn good eating and physical activity habits for a lifetime. The program combats obesity by engaging adults age 50+ as mentors to teach healthy lifelong habits to kids in grades K-5. Adults in the program benefit in several ways. Research shows that volunteers have lower rates of depression and mortality and greater functional ability than those who do not volunteer. As they promote healthy habits for kids and for themselves, they also experience the rewards of meaningful community service.

This annual event brings together people of all ages to fish. The event partners include the Monroe County Fishing Advisory Board, the Reidman Foundation, the Monroe County Parks Department, the Monroe County Office for the Aging, and the NYS DEC.

The goals of the Isabella Caring Partners Program are: (1) to increase the service provided by Isabella staff by employing high school students trained to deliver non-intimate assistance, (2) to promote intergenerational relationships, (3) to give students experience in the workplace and provide them with stipends and (4) to facilitate students’ exploration of health careers (Caring Partner Program, n.d.). Career Exploration in Aging brings students to skilled nursing floors where they visit and assist residents one-to-one and assist with group activities under the supervision of a charge nurse. Youth participate in workshops related to geriatric health care and issues of aging and health careers. It is an after-school paid working experience (Youth opportunities, n.d.). For 9 months on 2 and 3 day per week schedules, students spend time with elders. The Ratio is 1 to 2 students per 40 residents on a nursing unit.

We are bringing Music Together to the Lenox Hill Senior Center, where children and their families will join together with the ‘mature’ population in our community for occasional sing-alongs. Along with you and your child, elderly participants will observe and join in throughout the class.

StoryCorps collects the stories of individuals from diverse backgrounds as they are told to important individuals in the storyteller's life, with the intent of sharing them with future generations. Frequently, this involves storytelling between relatives or friends of disparate age. In particular, the Memory Loss Initiative, which focuses on telling the stories of those who are experiencing memory loss, by its very nature often has older adults relating stories to younger people.

ReServe's READY program helps low-income students apply to college by training and deploying college mentors, professionals who are 55+. College mentors reach over 2500 students in over 50 schools.

To honor the memory of the 12 million victims of this horrific genocide, JCY-Westchester Community Partners, Lincoln Park Jewish Center, Holocaust and Human Rights Education Center Speakers Bureau and the Yonkers Public Schools offer an annual Holocaust Remembrance Program. It is a 5 day program designed for Yonkers public school students.

The Pearls of Wisdom are a touring ensemble of elder storytellers. In richly told presentations, the Pearls present stories that illuminate their individual pasts and, in turn, our collective histories.

MentorCHIP offers site-based mentoring at partnering organizations with an academic and asset-building focus to build the confidence and resilience of children ages 6–16 whose parents are incarcerated. The program’s goal is to significantly improve the cognitive, social, and lifelong learning of children who are affected by incarceration.

Students work twelve or fifteen hours per week at assigned worksites. They work during or after school, depending on the plan created by their school-based Intergenerational Coordinator. Some students go to their worksites on weekends. They are given a variety of assignments at the skilled nursing facility. They may assist with group recreational activities such as Bingo, exercise class or cooking. They may provide direct services such as escorting, letter writing, reading to visually impaired residents, or giving nail salon sessions. At senior centers they may provide telephone reassurance, or make calls to seniors who are absent. Sometimes they work with the site’s administration, helping with office tasks, helping with meal service, setting up for events and decorating for holidays.