Health & Wellness Article - March 2011Generations together: imagining the possibilities
“We are not what we know but what we are willing to learn.”
The benefits of intergenerational programming are well-known, including:
For children:
- Promotes personal relationships with older adults;
- Fosters positive attitudes toward aging and the lifecycle;
- Offers the opportunity to learn skills and wisdom of another generation;
- Provides mentors and role models and stimulates the senses and opportunities for new learning.
For older adults:
- Fosters positive relationships with a child or children;
- Reduces isolation and loneliness through social contact;
- Offers the opportunity to share a lifetime of experience and skills;
- Stimulates the senses and opportunity for new learning.
One benefit that doesn’t show up on the lists; however, is the opportunity to pursue curiosity, imagination, and new learning for participants of all ages. In the Life Enrichment/Wellness programming at Touchmark communities, there are wonderful opportunities to ignite the spark of imagination and pursue new possibilities.
Intergenerational relationships have fostered outreach to the community in the arts, gardening, creative writing, photography, cooking, social media, and environmental stewardship, to name a few. The relationships developed and nurtured in these pursuits have, in many cases, outlasted the actual projects and led to ongoing time spent together in cherished relationships.
If you are interested in supporting the intergenerational programs at a Touchmark community, contact a member of the Life Enrichment/Wellness team. There is no limit to imagining and living the possibilities—at any age.
© 2008 Touchmark