The Next Chapter

Courtesy of Jewish Family and Children's
Services

EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, we feature intergenerational program ideas that were tried and successful. This series is a tool to highlight various age-optimized programs and practices. The program descriptions are provided by representatives of the programs. Inclusion in this series does not imply Generations United’s endorsement or recommendation, but rather encourages ideas to inspire other programs.

This week’s cool idea is The Next Chapter, which enables high school youth to connect with and learn from Holocaust survivors.

(Check our archives for parts 1-44.)

The Next Chapter is a program of Jewish Family and Children's Services, one of the oldest and largest family service institutions in the United States, founded in 1850 by immigrant pioneers who arrived in California during the Gold Rush and created an extended family to care for each other.

Today, they continue to be that extended family, serving 78,000 people annually with the highest quality, research-based social services designed to strengthen individuals, strengthen families, and strengthen community.

As the problem-solving center for residents of San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma, Santa Clara, and San Mateo counties, the Jewish Family and Children’s Services is a lifeline for children, families, and older adults facing life transitions and personal crises.

By participating in The Next Chapter, students are awarded 40 hours of community service and create a special relationship with a local survivor.

At monthly meetings, students will learn how to:

1) Interview Holocaust survivors and document their oral histories in a written essay.

2) Study the history of the Holocaust and explore the current Jewish cultural renaissance in Poland.

3) Time commitment: Students will meet in one seminar a month from December through April, and connect with the survivor they have been matched with three times throughout the semester.

Got something cool you tried that was successful? Why not tweet your cool intergenerational ideas to #cooligideas? You can also post them to our Intergenerational Connections Facebook Group. We want to highlight innovative age-optimized programs and practices through our blog, social media and weekly e-newsletter! Share the inspiration.