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Intergenerational Volunteering Builds Bridges

Last winter, 826LA published a story about volunteer Margie Templeton. 75 year-old Margie has been volunteering with 826LA for over 3 years with After-School Tutoring and Field Trips. It was during a Memoir-Writing Field Trip that she became inspired to write a memoir of her own about her experience growing up during World War II. In addition to helping an entire class of students become published authors by the end of the morning, Margie herself became a featured voice on our blog. And her voice will soon be joined by many!

31301334845_441e3a874b_kThough intergenerational volunteering has always been an effective resource for 826LA, this year we began a major effort to make it a cornerstone of 826LA’s volunteer program, as we work with organizations like the Eisner Foundation, AARP’s Create the Good, and Generation to Generation to connect seniors with our young students.

Folks of different generations working together has tremendous benefits for both sides of the age-scale. Forbes writes that “older people are uniquely skilled in creating close relationships, especially with children… [and] that children with an older adult in their lives are less likely to have behavioral or psychiatric problems.” Additionally, and something that we see in our writing labs often is that kids “learn better from older adults.”

Recently 826LA was one of eight organizations to be granted awards to fund intergenerational volunteer programs by the Eisner Foundation. As part of their Grant Spotlight series, I was interviewed about our volunteer program. I was able to share what I love about working at 826LA:

“Our aim is to get students excited about learning and writing. This is about modeling behavior and learning alongside students. And senior volunteers are not afraid to say ‘I don’t know how to do this’ or ‘it’s been awhile since I’ve done this, let’s figure it out.’”

My favorite moments here are seeing the writing lab full of 6-18 year olds, who are sitting amongst college students, millennials, baby boomers, seniors — everyone working together, sharing stories, experiences, and advice.

And I see our seniors volunteers impacting more than just the students we serve. When an older volunteer approaches a first-31157073302_d4527ed43e_ktime-volunteer-and-first-time-college student and immediately makes them feel comfortable and welcome; when “so what are you studying?” turns into a 15 minute conversation about unexpected shared passions, it’s clear that seniors make lasting change. It’s snapshots like these that show the power of these connections.

The numbers don’t lie either. 100% of the seniors who were trained and background checked last year volunteered in our programs at least once — a percentage unmatched by any other group.

We’re excited to be developing a robust and successful intergenerational volunteering program, and to learn and grow alongside folks of all ages.


If you have a connection with a group of seniors who might like to volunteer with 826LA, please email our Volunteer Manager, Lauren Humphrey!

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