Building bonds across generations, children and older adults

"You really do see the benefit to both populations. It's a very special program," says Swift, whose own son attended the child care center. "For our seniors, they're

a very dependent population but when they interact with the children, they get that adult role back, they feel needed, and have the opportunity to teach and instruct." Every day, each

of the eight classrooms engages in one or more activities with the adults, whether seniors rocking a baby, taking a nature walk with the older children or cooking or crafting together.

"It becomes an integrated part of the day for both the children and the seniors," Swift says. "They call each other their _'neighbors.'_" One woman with

advanced dementia could stay focused for a half-hour when giving a bottle to an infant. She also seemed calmer and happier after time in the baby room. Another man with early onset

Alzheimer's developed a connection with a little girl whom he read to and helped settle into naptime. "His wife said the program had given her her husband back," Swift

recalls. "He had things he talked about in his day. She said, 'We have dinner conversation again.' " The senior citizens also work with at-risk youth on art mentorship,

although not as regularly as they connect with the 120 children at the center. The adult center has 100 people enrolled, with an average of 55 attending each day. The oldest attendee is 98

and the average age is 85. INTERGENERATIONAL COMMUNITY GARDEN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY Preschoolers are encouraged to help in the community garden, which grows flowers, fruits and vegetables.

Photo courtesy Jewish Community Center of Louisville What better way to connect than digging in the dirt together? Senior citizens and preschoolers alike tend the intergenerational community

garden at the Jewish Community Center of Louisville. "Our senior volunteers' passion for the garden and the children's curiosity makes for an ideal pairing," says

Michael Fraade, who oversees the garden as a JOFEE Fellow with the Jewish Community of Louisville. "Adults who have maintained the garden have a great opportunity to teach the children.

The younger generation has an opportunity to learn from the accumulated experience of the elders." Preschoolers in the JCC's Early Learning Center and summer campers help plant,

weed, tend and harvest food from the garden, the majority of which is donated to the needy. These activities reinforce Jewish values such as _tzedakah _(charitable giving) and being _shomrei

adamah_ (earth keepers). The garden also provides symbolic foods for holidays such as potatoes for Hanukkah latkes, parsley for Passover, apple for Rosh Hashanah, and gourds and corn to

decorate the Sukkah during the fall harvest festival. SAN PASQUAL ACADEMY NEIGHBORS SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA A San Pasqual Academy student and coach warm-up for a softball game. Photo from

Friends of the San Pasqual Academy Founded in 2001, the San Pasqual Academy provides a residential education for high school students at risk for slipping through the cracks. The academy

connects children in the foster care system to community resources, health care, financial literacy and workforce preparation services through on-site county social workers and nonprofit

partners. As part of the program, 13 senior citizens who live in deeply subsidized housing on the 250-acre campus volunteer at least 10 hours a week by coaching a sport, teaching cooking or

gardening, sharing music and art, or simply mentoring the students. "We have lots of kids whose number one support person has been their San Pasqual grandparent," says Yvonne

Campbell, director of the San Pasqual Academy Neighbors (SPAN) intergenerational mentoring program. "A program like this benefits both parties. The biggest issue with the kids is

learning to trust adults because they've been let down by a lot of adults in their lives." "Grandparents" contribute based on their own interests and talents. Some help

with the baseball, softball and volleyball teams, while others organize poetry slams or help the children fly model airplanes. "It started as an experience for the kids to have somebody

they're connected with, who's not like a staff person keeping track of them, but a relationship," says Campbell. Often, the relationship extends after the students have

graduated to college or the workforce. "That grandparent is their main connection and the person they call when there's an issue." TINY TIGERS INTERGENERATIONAL CENTER

MARSHFIELD, WISCONSIN At the Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center, high school students interested in human services careers learn how to care for children and older adults. Photo courtesy

Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center In 2001, students in the "Careers with Kids" classes at Marshfield High School asked why the school had a transportation lab and science lab for

students considering careers in those fields, but no facility for students to gain hands-on experience caring for children or the elderly. Six years later, the Tiny Tiger Intergenerational

Center opened in answer to that question, comprising a child care center and adult day care center where students could volunteer and work in preparation for a career in human services.

Students can take classes about caregiving, life span development, career pathways and activities that connect generations. They can also earn a certificate to become an assistant child care

teacher. In addition, adults in the day program visit the child care center, whether to rock a baby to sleep, color alongside a toddler or read to a preschooler. (One

"Grandfriend" came to the center after a bout with cancer that left her unable to walk. But her daily routine of holding and feeding the babies helped her recovery, to the point

that she could again get around easily with a walker.) "The child's need to explore can alleviate the elder's boredom," explains Jennifer Fredrick, career and technical

education coordinator for the Marshfield School District. "A child's need to interact can alleviate the older adult's loneliness, and the child's need for guidance can

alleviate the elder's helplessness." About 100 students from Marshfield High take classes in the Human Services Academy and can easily walk across the street to the center, which

serves 130 children from infant to school age. The high school students and the young children become comfortable around older adults and those with a physical disability or memory

impairment. All carry this greater awareness and empathy with them when they leave the center.    "There's a demand for professional, compassionate caregivers and the Tiny Tiger

Intergenerational Center offers students an opportunity to learn about these concepts and apply their knowledge from all their coursework," says Fredrick, whose 5-year-old daughter

attends the center, sometimes being cared for by high school students. _Katherine Reynolds Lewis is a freelance writer whose articles have appeared in TheAtlantic.com, Bloomberg

Businessweek, Money, Mother Jones, MSN Money, New York Times, Parade, Slate and the Washington Post Magazine._ _Page published October 2016_ More from AARP.org/Livable  Use the dropdown to

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