Intergenerational programs bring together two or more generations and engage them in shared activities that inspire, educate, and advance their mutual well-being. Current literature on intergenerational programs involving elementary school children and older individuals describes benefits for both groups. However, most studies concentrate on the…

The assisted living population is forecast to increase at a rapid rate. Quality of life for residents should be improved by giving greater attention to their cognitive, emotional, and social needs. A university lifespan development team provided a grandparent education course at a large assisted living facility with the assistance of 20 resident…

Objective: To describe the annual operational costs of a mature Experience Corps[R] program in elementary schools in the Baltimore City Public School System. Methods: Systematic records of expenditures kept by the community partner, Greater Homewood Community Corporation, to be reported to funders were made available for analysis. Expenditures…

This paper is based on a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of a reading programme delivered by older adult volunteers for at-risk early readers. Wizards of Words (WoW) was targeted at socially disadvantaged children in first and second grade experiencing delays in reading but who were not eligible for formal literacy supports. The…

A randomized field trial involving 883 students at 23 schools in three urban cities assessed the effectiveness of Experience Corps[R] (EC), a program that places older adult volunteers in elementary schools to tutor students who are poor readers. Students were assessed at the beginning and end of the academic year with standardized reading…

Philosophy for Children has been offering schoolchildren the opportunity to engage with philosophical ideas since the 1970s. It is a simple idea, already used in schools in Britain and around the world. Children share some reading--or other stimulus--with their teacher. They then devise their own questions, choose one that interests them, and,…

The Experience Corps[R], a community-based intergenerational program, was developed to promote the health of older adults while simultaneously addressing unmet social and academic needs in public elementary schools. The model was designed to draw on, and potentially activate, the wisdom of older adults. This paper explores the nature of…

Our research involved a community-school literacy initiative where seniors visit elementary schools to read with children. As we considered the residual data in our study, we were led to explore an emerging school-community relationship--a web of connection--being created by senior volunteers in the project. We discuss this aspect of our study in…

This research reports findings from an intergenerational science program, Project Serve, which placed senior volunteers in elementary and junior high science classrooms to assist teachers and augment instruction. Items from the Children's View of Aging survey (Newman, 1997; Newman & Faux, 1997) were administered before and after the project with…

Going to scale often entails replicating a program in new locations, but it can also involve efforts to expand a program's reach in existing locations, enabling it to have a greater effect on communities already being served. This was the case with "Experience Corps," a Civic Ventures program that enlists older adults as volunteers to help…

"Rewards of Giving" is based on interviews with 43 volunteers in Experience Corps, a national service program that recruits, trains and places teams of older adults in underserved urban elementary schools as tutors and mentors. The study offers a rich understanding of what motivates Americans over 55 to volunteer, the challenges and rewards they…

What happens when you combine senior citizens, pre-service art teachers, and elementary students? Cross-generational connections based on sharing memories, ideas, skills, laughter, tears, and creativity. The authors describe the cross-generational book exchange project. This project was initiated when a group of Central Michigan University (CMU)…

Although osteoporosis typically surfaces in later life, peak bone mass attained before age 20 is a key factor in its prevention. However, most American children's diets lack sufficient calcium during the critical growth periods of preadolescence and adolescence to achieve peak bone mass. "Better Bones (BB) Buddies" is an educational…