linkAges

(Credit: PAMF Innovation Center) A linkAges member assists an elder 

with a computer for a linkAges Tech Day at Stevenson House, an 

affordable housing community, in Palo Alto.

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, linkAges is an online network that connects people of all ages and empowers individuals to improve each other's health by providing opportunities for meaningful connections.

(Check our archives for parts 1-81 | non-archived: 1, 2, 3,4, 5 and 6)

The program, featured in the Santa Cruz Sentinel, helps connect people of all ages through an exchange system that relies on abilities and interests.

The Sentinel article shows that through the story of Lynda Hyndman, an Australian-born Canadian who moved to Silicon Valley to join her husband, an engineer for a satellite company.

She joined the linkAges network after seeing a flyer at the local library. In exchange for offering to wash windows, the 59-year-old connected with people of all ages who gave her rides to the airport, her aerobics sessions and Spanish classes.

Read the full story in the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Visit linkAges’ site to learn more.

Got something cool you tried that was successful? Share the inspiration. 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!

Carlisle, MA Intergenerational Road Races

This guest post appears courtesy of Patti Russo of Carlisle, Massachusetts. All photos courtesy of The Carlisle Mosquito.

Walk or Run! Just Have Fun!

On a cold and rainy Veterans Day in Carlisle, MA, over 160 runners and walkers toed the starting line for the town’s first intergenerational road races. Participants ranged in age from 4-91.

This event “for all ages” is one of many intergenerational events sponsored by the Carlisle Council on Aging (COA).

With all ages in mind, the race committee chose to make the race a “run/walk” instead of only a run to make it accessible to older adults. Both races included winning age group categories of 80-89 and 90+ in order to recognize older participants.

Several grandparents participated with their grandchildren.

Charlie Rubel, 6, with his grandfather
Kevin Smith. (Photo by Ellen Huber)

Among them was Kevin Smith who ran the one-mile race with 6-year-old grandson, Charlie. Charlie earned a medal for the 10 and under age group. Kevin, who won in the 60-69 age group, said that he and Charlie had a wonderful time together and hoped to run again next year. 

The Reid/Plante family also had a multigenerational showing. 

Kate and Mark Reid ran the one-mile race with their 6-year-old grandson, Roland Plante, while Alison and Doug Plante, Roland’s parents, ran the 5K.

There was a lot of positive energy and a great intergenerational vibe throughout the morning. 

It was cool to see all ages pin on a bib and bond over this shared experience of running a race together. Seventy doesn’t seem all that different from 17 when everyone’s out there finishing a race in the rain.

I know I speak for the entire race committee when I say how pleased we are with the way the day unfolded. 

In one morning, we honored veterans and shattered (or at least cracked) a few stereotypes about what it means to be an older adult, we supported nationwide public health initiatives to sit less and move more, and we provided an opportunity for the community to gather and connect. 

Click here to view enlarged image. (Left Photo by Beth Clarke) Gertrud Behn, left, and Jean Sain
finish the race with Sain first in her age category (80-89) and Behn one second behind in the same age
group. (Center Photo by Ellen Huber) Tahleen Shamlian, left, (20-29) and Patti Russo (50-59) both
won their respective age groups in the 5K race. (Right Photo by Beth Clarke) Angela Smith and
Santo Pullara cross the one-mile finish line. Pullara, 91, was the oldest finisher.

Everyone’s asking for more, so it looks like the Carlisle Intergenerational Road Races will be an annual event.

Read the Carlisle Mosquito's story on the Carlisle Intergenerational Road races.

Patti Russo, race committee member, is a Certified Poetry Therapist and a strong advocate of intergenerational programs and policies. She lives and runs in Carlisle, MA.

Canada’s Day for All Ages

(l-r) Sharon MacKenzie, executive director of i2i Intergenerational Society
of Canada with Mary Lattenville (a Meadows School Project participant),
former student participant Erin Sturrock and another Meadows School
participant Marie Firth during the June 1 Intergenerational Day
Canada celebration.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Each week, we'll feature intergenerational program ideas that were tried and successful. This new 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.

In part seven of our series, we feature i2i Intergenerational Society of Canada, an organization based out of British Columbia and created to assist Canadians in the building of bridges between generations. (Read parts one, two, three, four, five and six.)

This blog post and photos appear courtesy of Sharon MacKenzie, Executive Director of i2i Intergenerational Society.

In my country, we celebrate Intergenerational Day on June 1^st. Last month marked the fifth year we recognized this commemorative day.

It’s a time when provincial, territorial and over 100 municipal governments across the country acknowledge the importance of respectful intergenerational relations.

The i2i Intergenerational Society’s charge to Canadians is a small one: reach out to someone of a different generation. (See our history.)

The Meadows School Project's former students and participants

We spread the word through newsletters, social media (Facebook and Twitter), our website and those of our colleagues, and through official proclamations shared within community by city councils and provincial/territorial legislatures.

The citywide events spread from Toronto, Ontario and Calgary, Alberta to Victoria and Vernon, British Columbia, where the Victoria City Parade drew a crowd of 200,000 seniors and children.

Another great event was the Vernon reunion, which brought together students and older adults from the Meadows School Project, an intergenerational immersion program that ran from 2001 to 2008.

Other cities and local groups opted for intergenerational picnics, sing-a-longs, media coverage with stories of the value of their relationships, ice cream parties and sharing of bridge building activities that involved teens making videos to help older adults understand appliances in the home.

The one-day initiative on June 1st brings attention to the power of intergenerational relations in building a more resilient community by breaking down the issues of ageism. 

Clip from i2i's documentary Whose Grandma Are You?

The i2i Intergenerational Society sees the immense value for health, education and the community at large when older adults and children/youth are given time to build respectful and reflective relations.

Our research of eleven years, which incorporates the Meadows School Intergenerational Immersion Project template into four care facilities and schools in British Columbia and Alberta, proves that intergenerational activities improve sense of well-being, reduce isolation and create a greater sense of contributing meaningfully to the local community.

This has huge implications for health in an aging demographic and a world where children and youth are increasingly confronted with the insecurities of our changing society.

Our mandate is to partner with all of the local intergenerational initiatives in Canada to create a larger advocacy group and a resource base for others wishing to get involved in their locales.

We encourage others to see the benefits of bridging generations every day in every way, which speaks to our slogan: “It’s not about doing different things, it is about doing things differently.”

For more information and to download resources, go to www.intergenerational.ca