Intergenerational Program Database

“Hyper-Linking the Generations” is an intergenerational program and curriculum offered by Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) to New York City schools and community centers. The innovative program combines a program for youth with a community-based technology training program for older adults, providing unique opportunities for cross-age interaction, collaborative learning, and concrete skills development for all participants.

In this service-based class, each Pace student is paired with two individuals in a senior community (nursing home, assisted living, or independent living). Over the course of the semester, the college students teach their older students how to:  use email, Google, and Skype; access and manage online photos; and play brain games.

Trained technology students from Pace University visit locations where seniors gather, such as nutrition sites and senior apartment buildings. Senior’s vital signs – specifically their pulse, weight, oxygen blood level and blood pressure – are measured using computers and other equipment. That data is then transmitted to graduate student nurses at Pace University who review it remotely. If the tests show cause for immediate concern, the nurse will contact the seniors, their caregivers or primary care physicians directly.

A year long pen pal program in which residents from Bishop's Commons and students write letters to each other twice a month during the school year. At the end of the year, the students and older adults meet.

Students and Mature Adults Read Together (SMART) utilizes the largely untapped resources of older adults to benefit the youth of Westchester. Older adults use the skills, knowledge, and insight gained over many years, and through diverse experiences, to tutor and mentor students who are reading below grade level in Kindergarten through 8th grade.

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.

At the Senior Lunch Program volunteers serve hot kosher meals every Sunday to 20-25 low-income seniors at one of our senior housing sites in Kipps Bay, Manhattan. Residents are invited from different nearby Met Council senior housing sites to attend this program. Some volunteer duties include setting up, waiting on the clients, serving lunch, and – most importantly – socializing with our clients. Volunteers include teen and young professional groups.

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.

Through this “e-literacy” intergenerational program, high school students use their skills to teach older adults computer knowledge over a period of 6 weeks.