| INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMS |
For more than 20 years, Interages has operated the Montgomery County Intergenerational Resource Center through which it assists professionals and organizations develop intergenerational programs for their communities. Interages is regarded as a national leader in the intergenerational movement. Key goals are:
- Overcome negative stereotypes that each generation may have about the other.
- Provide services in a supportive and nurturing environment to facilitate learning.
- Offer programs that enhance the self-esteem of children and youth.
- Enable isolated senior adults the opportunity to reinforce a sense of worth by working with children and youth.
- Ensure that each generation has the opportunity to learn and benefit from the other.
- Develop programs that meet a community need and have positive outcomes.
- Provide meaningful volunteer opportunities with relevant training.
Current programs include:
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Dialogues Across the Ages presents opportunities for older adults and high school students to dispel stereotypes that each generation may feel about the other. When young and old realize that they share common concerns, the two generations begin their journey of weekly dialogues to discuss news events, social and political issues.
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Grandreaders is a literacy program for children in second grade. The program is designed to increase a child's ability to read, enhance reading skills and encourage a love of reading, all facilitated by caring and nurturing older adult volunteers.
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Global Wizards is an after school academic enrichment program for second, third and fourth graders. The program takes the students on an adventure around the world. It shows them how to use maps, what is meant by maps and the "Western hemisphere." Global Wizards uses puzzles, games and special maps to teach gerographic ideas and facts. To learn about the millions of plants and animals in tropical rain forests, Wizards uses a world search to help children learn of the many resources that come from the region.
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Intergenerational Bridges, is a mentoring program that pairs newly arrived immigrant children in ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programs with supportive older adult mentors to assist with the transition to US culture, language acquisition, and personal development.
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Project SHARE enriches the lives of health-impaired seniors in adult day care centers and assisted living facilities by linking them with children from pre-school through high school in a number of interactive ways. Project SHARE focuses on what people can do rather than on their limitations. The unique aspect of Project SHARE is that all activities require involvement by senior participants.
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Interages’ Makeover Madness program matches older adult “clients” with cosmetology students at Thomas Edison School of Technology once a month during the school year.
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