Intergenerational Program Database

The SMART program, created in 196, is the largest intergenerational literacy program in Westchester County, New York. SMART pairs older adult volunteer mentors with student reading below grade level in one-hour a week, one-on-one mentoring/tutoring relationships. Currently SMART operates in twenty nine elementary, middle, and high schools. Every week over 210 older adult mentors help over 475 children in grades K through 12 to improve their basic skills in reading, writing, and math. SMART's success led to the launch of Reading Buddies After School (RBAS) in 2007. RBAS adopts the SMART model to address student's needs for homework assistance. Currently, RBAS is offered in eleven schools in Westchester County.

K-9 Kids brings together youth, residents of the Homestead Long Term Care Facility, and registered Pet Therapy dogs. The program gives youth the opportunity to develop safe, caring relationships with the senior citizens while at the same time taking pride in their work as dog handlers and helpers.

Intergenerational exchange day - seniors come to school

Open Book is an intergenerational early childhood literacy program with adult volunteers reading to children in the pediatric and foster care clinic waiting rooms at Westchester Medical Center and at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Marie Fareri Children’s Hospital. In addition Pediatricians at White Plains Hospital are trained to include reading as part of the well child visit. Over 8,000 books are given away for free annually at these locations. Open Book is a partner of the nationally acclaimed “REACH OUT AND READ” program.

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.

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.

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.

“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.

We are a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of Brooklyn citizens through educational programs that use technology to enhance teaching and learning. Using an intergenerational approach our programs promote three main initiatives: 1.providing digital literacy classes for senior citizens ; 2.assisting adult educators with technology integration tactics; 3.and providing entrepreneurs with technology integrated applications for business development.

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.