Intergenerational Programs
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Many organizations want to bring people of different ages together as part of the agency's mission. Often, these programs involve senior volunteers working with youth. There are many examples of such programs, and these web sites offer profiles of not only some of these programs, but also tips for bringing senior volunteers and youth together.
- Illinois Intergenerational Initiative
Explores ways to strengthen the intergenerational infrastructure in Illinois from the Illinois Board of Higher Education and Southern Illinois University. They want to be a starting point for discussion that can lead to a better understanding of other generations. The website compiles a large amount of publications regarding service learning of all ages, intergenerational technology programs, older learner programs, after-school-programs, involving retirees in workforce preparation etc.
- University of Pittsburgh Generations Together - An Intergenerational Studies Program
An Intergenerational Studies institute with services and resources of interest to professionals exploring the interaction between children, youth, and older adults.
- Center for Intergenerational Learning
This center provides a number of intergenerational programs and information:
- Abuelas y Jovenes: A drug prevention and in-home support program involving older women as mentors to Latina pregnant and parenting teens.
- Across Ages: A drug prevention program for high-risk middle school youth that involves older people as mentors to students.
- Full Circle Theaters: An intergenerational ensemble of teens and elders addresses social issues through improvisational theater.
- Sisters in Science: Older women with science backgrounds and undergraduate teachers-in-training help increase interest in science among 4th-grade minority girls through environmental community service projects.
- Time Out: College students provide respite to families caring for frail elders.
- Project WRITE: College students help elders enhance their reading and writing skills.
- Project SHINE: Students provide language, literacy and citizenship tutoring for elderly immigrants and refugees.
- HomeFriends: this program mobilizes older volunteers as mentors and advocates for families who are at risk or have been reported for child abuse and neglect.
- Generations Incorporated
A nonprofit organization committed to intergenerational programming.Activities include:
- Generation Clubs: The program model facilitates long-term, one-on-one relationships between urban youth and isolated elders.
- Leaps in Literacy: The program utilizes the nationally acclaimed Reading CoachesTM model that has been able to raise students' reading scores by over 3 reading levels in 1 year.
- After School Program: The After School Program brings a group of older adults into a school or community site to work one-on-one with elementary children reading below grade level and to work with middle school students who have been identified as academically at risk.
- Oasis
Provides information about intergenerational tutoring, with senior volunteers tutoring young children who need help developing reading and language skills.
- Strom Thurmond Retirement and Intergenerational Studies
The mission: To focus research on the social, cultural, economic, and political impacts of retirees across the state and nation, as well as their potential as significant contributors in the lives of America's youth. In the Intergenerational Entrepreneurship Demonstration Project retirees help the youth operate their own country market out of a renovated dairy barn. The LINC Project partners youth with older adults in community service teams.
- Generations United
The premier national organization that focuses solely on promoting intergenerational strategies, programs, and policies and advocating for the mutual well-being of children, youth, and older adults. Generations United maintains the nation's largest resource library and database of intergenerational programs. GU has also been designated as the national clearinghouse for intergenerational Learn and Serve programs.
- New Jersey Intergenerational Network
The website makes information on intergenerational programs readily available to all interested parties. There are internet links to national programs and programs in New Jersey.
- Insite
A web-based mentoring network that uses a web site and database to facilitate the matching of middle and high school students with pre-screened adults according to shared interests and career goals. The Career Mentor Database lets you search for and connect with a mentor in a certain career interest area.
- Palaver Tree Online
An online community designed to support the collection and exploration of history by kids. They focus on creating communications channels between kids and elders online. Kids working in a classroom read stories as part of their standard curriculum and formulate questions for elders based on what they have read. Elders respond with answers, stories, photos, and more. Kids and elders talk for a time and then work together to build historical artifacts online.
- Life Raft
An intergenerational crew and special guests explore questions about our lives through fiction, non-fiction, analysis, humor, graphics, photography, music-- an artistic expression of human experience.
Last modified February 09, 2004.
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