Model
Programs
Model Programs for the
old and the young to come together, share their experiences, jokes,
values and virtues of life........
Pen
Pal Programs
Pen Pal programs are a great way for old and young to link
and maintain contact over a number of years. One program in
Homewood involves older adults from a local AARP Chapter. ³I
have been involved in pen pal programs for eight years, I see
the children come into the program at the age of six and have
the pleasure of seeing some of them as they go through the upper
grades,² commented Frank Ertl, former AARP state director.
He further describes the program developed with a first-grade
teacher, Gretchen Pallet: ³The children come into the program
not knowing how to write at the beginning of the school year
and are taught to make letters, then words and sentences, and
finally write letters. They set up a mock post office, staffed
with a postmaster, clerk, and mail carrier, giving the children
knowledge of how the postal system works. They start to write
to each other in the classroom and by December are ready to
write to an unknown pen pal, thus the correspondence begins.
By March 1st, after several letters, they meet their pen pals
for the first time at a classroom get-together. They meet this
way about four times during the school year. Some of the children
continue to write as they advance from grade to grade. Mr. Ertl
added, ³I write to one of the students now in eighth grade.
I receive three or four letters a year they are a delight!²
The RSVP of Coles County corresponds with students from an
elementary classroom at least once each month. A get-together
planned by the students is held for the pen pals to meet after
the correspondence has started. At the end of the year, a picnic
in a local park is held to say good-bye.
Lincoln School in Macomb is the setting for a pen pal program
between K-4 students and nursing home residents. Gary Dunham
describes the five steps to a pen pal program with nursing-home
residents: 1. We study and practice letter writing. 2. Pair
up and meet nursing home residents. 3. Write weekly letters.
4. Visit at least once more during the year. 5. End with an
³old fashioned school-day picnic.²
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Latch
Key Programs
Latch key or after school programs are becoming more and more
popular as parents work and children go home to empty houses.
Grandma Please, sponsored by the Uptown Center Hull House, is
an intergenerational telephone helpline that links latch key
children in the Chicago area with older volunteers who are often
frail or homebound. The lines are open from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Monday through Friday, so that children ages 6 to 12 can talk
with a grandma or grandpa. The telephone calls help by comforting
and reassuring frightened or lonely children; mediating arguments
between fighting children; assisting in completing homework
assignments; listening to the news of the days' events; and
advising children. A supervising professional is on call during
helpline hours to handle emergencies.
The after school program at Carl Sandberg Elementary School
in Charleston presents opportunities for learning new hobbies,
joining a writing or reading club, and learning social skills.
Before the after school program was initiated, the students
talked about being bored. Now they can¹t wait for the few
hours each day when they interact with their older friends.
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Delinquency Prevention
Attend and Win is a truants alternative program at the Eldorado
Community Unit District 4. The program enlists older volunteers
as mentors and tutors to assist students at-risk.
The Cook County Sheriff's Youth Services Department in an effort
to develop and encourage meaningful roles for youth as one approach
to juvenile delinquency prevention has designed and piloted
a model intergenerational project. A group of youth offenders
and another group of senior citizens explore the perspectives
of old and young on a number of issues and identify a task or
plan to accomplish jointly.
Positive Alternatives Project is a joint venture of Wright
College and Chicago Police Department 15th District. Older volunteers
tutor students, provide career counseling and serve as mentors.
The program is a community education/crime prevention partnership
offering young people alternative choices to gangs and drugs.
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Social Clubs and Camps
The Senior Club in Benton, according to Brenda Stewart, is
composed of senior citizens and high school students involved
in projects and programs. ³We meet during the school year
one time each month plus several additional functions, such
as helping other civic organizations, sponsoring fund-raising
events, making crafts, helping senior citizens, and generally
enjoying learning about each other." When summer arrives
the senior citizens and students have a camping experience for
three days.
The Senior Citizen Day Camp in Springfield sponsored by the
Boy Scouts and Lincoln Land Community College uses the buddy
system to match a scout with a guest from an area retirement
or nursing home. They spend the day together establishing a
working relationship performing scout activities.
Students and Seniors Promoting an Intergenerational Network
(SSPINS) gives students and older adults an opportunity to interact.
They meet for four sessions to discuss such topics as safety,
oral history, international games and sharing experiences. The
program is sponsored by the Chicago Department on Aging.
The Limestone Community High School in Bartonville has a daily
lunch table for senior citizens. They also involve older adults
in Christmas programs, crafts, and workshops relating to aging.
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National Intergenerational Programs
Two of the largest and oldest intergenerational programs are
the Foster Grandparents Program and Retired Senior Volunteers
Program (RSVP). These programs exist throughout Illinois.
RSVP, a component of ACTION, the national volunteer agency,
involves volunteers 60 or older who serve through nonprofit
and public community organizations. RSVP provides opportunities
for retirees to make use of their knowledge and energy to help
in the community. Although RSVP volunteers provide services
to many organizations, one of their greatest successes is the
service for children and students. The RSVP programs have led
the way in Illinois with creative programming that addresses
some of the most serious problems of education.
Foster Grandparents is another component of ACTION. Foster
Grandparents are women and men who bring with them the experience
of living and have a willingness to reach out to physically,
mentally, and emotionally handicapped children. They accept
their role to be a grandparent in every sense--being a caring,
stable presence in a child¹s life. The Foster Grandparents
Program is open to low-income persons 60 years old and over.
In return for their service, they receive a modest tax-free
stipend, as well as a transportation allowance, hot meals while
in service, accident insurance, and an annual physical examination.
They attend 40 hours of preservice orientation and receive monthly
in-service training.
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Adopt-A-Grandparent or Adopt-A-Grandchild
Mary Givens from the Cherrywood Health Care Center in Vandalia
describes the benefits of Adopt-a-Grandparent. ³It is a
chance for the young to be of service; to feel needed; to develop
sensitivity; to respect the needs of others; to learn how to
develop friendships with older people; to work as a team for
the benefit of someone else; to develop better communication
skills; and to establish a sense of concern for the community
and its people. For the Grandparent, the program offers an chance
to share talents, knowledge, and friendship with the young.
The elderly regain the feeling of being useful and productive.
Through the personal contact of a handshake, a hug, a kiss,
the grandparent experiences the most basic of all human needs,
that of love.²
In Grandparents Unlimited older adults become surrogate grandparents
as they volunteer time and services at local child-care and
nursery schools. This provides an opportunity for young children
and older adults to share a close relationship within a school
setting. Grandparents Unlimited is just one of several intergenerational
programs created by Helene Block, Oakton Community College.
The DeKalb County Nursing Home brings in junior-high, high-school,
and college students to experience one-on-one interaction with
specific residents. The students read, visit, talk, take walks,
play cards, and participate in group activities together. The
students are given an orientation to the facility. ³These
programs help maintain and spark interest in life essential
to our aging adults,² commented Michele Green.
The Adopt-A-Grandparent is a little different for the Coles
County RSVP. The RSVP volunteers are adopted by college students.
The students fill out interest cards, and then they are matched
with an RSVP member. A break-the-ice potluck is held at the
beginning of the program so that volunteers and students get
together, visiting at the seniors' home, going out to dinner,
and attending functions together. The Chicago Heights Foster
Grandparent Program targets at-risk pre-kindergarten and kindergarten
students. The grandparents visit the classroom four hours each
day five days a week.
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