Photos courtesy of First Community Village
“Learn from your elders.” It’s something we’re told time and time again, but Upper Arlington’s First Community Village has taken that philosophy to new levels through the intergenerational programs it organizes with area schools.
First Community Village hosts 350 residents and is separated into three divisions, including memory care, hospice and assisted living. Its intergenerational programs are spread across the entire community. The programs have been a part of the community for roughly five years, and have only grown and improved.
“It’s something for (the residents) to look forward to,” says Meredith Mennona, residential life enrichment leader. “The kids will share their summer plans and the trips they’re taking. It also helps the kids put a face with an age.”
The students, which range from elementary school to high school, will draw pictures with the residents, exchange pen pal letters with the residents, take residents to their schools once a year and participate in an end-of-the-year party at First Community Village where they will sometimes put on shows, like piano recitals.
“It can be very nostalgic (for the residents),” Mennona says. “A lot of (the kids) will tell stories, ‘my grandpa lived in a place like this.’ It really takes the stigma away. And, for kids who have lost a grandparent, it’s nice to have that connection.”
There are about 80 students who participate in First Community Village’s intergenerational programs. They come from schools across both the Upper Arlington and Grandview Heights school districts, as well as the Wellington School. Local Girl Scout troops will also stop by, and some students involved in the intergenerational programs will even come back to First Community Village as volunteers.
Residents and students make tissue paper turkeys for Thanksgiving
“That’s how a lot of the kids will complete their service hours (for school),” Mennona says.
That’s what 12-year-old Abigael O’Toole did. When she was in fifth grade and attending Trinity Catholic Elementary School, O’Toole would help her mother, who works for First Community Village, with filing and other office tasks. She was also pen pals with one of the residents, as was her sister.
“We had the same buddy,” O’Toole says, adding at the time they would meet up about once a month. “We would both talk with them and make eggs for Easter and do other activities. It was a lot of fun.”
O’Toole says the programs give residents and students alike the opportunity to compare their own experiences. One of her favorite parts of interacting with the residents is getting to hear their stories.
“They tell us a lot of stories about the way they lived when they were my age and how different it was (from my own experience),” O’Toole says. “You really get to know them and like them a lot.”
O’Toole says the conversations with students can bring back fond memories for residents who have children or grandchildren.
“It sometimes gives them something happy to dwell on,” she says. “It also just gives them someone to talk to. Working with them is just a great experience.”
Benefits of Intergenerational Programming
Students play bingo with First Community Village residents
With families living further and further apart and age segregation due to assisted living homes, older adults lose their opportunities to connect on an intergenerational level. Generations United, a non-profit initiative that aims to improve the lives of older adults and children through intergenerational collaborations, says 45 percent of the retired population has expressed interest in working with youth programs. Interaction with young children can also improve older adults’ mental and physical state – older adults who regularly volunteer and engage with children burn 20 percent more calories and experience fewer falls. Interactions with children also prove to benefit adults living with dementia or other cognitive impairments.
Intergenerational programs also play a role in youth education. Children who engage with older adults tend to have improved reading scores, according to a study from Generations United. Youth involved in the programs are also 46 percent less likely to use illegal drugs, 27 percent less likely to drink while underage and 52 percent less likely to skip school.
Hannah Bealer is an editor. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenecolumbus.com.
