August 25, 2005
Thursday

Ketchikan, Alaska - Wednesday, Alaska Community Services and the Boys and Girls Club of Ketchikan met with some of the residents of Seaview Terrace and some of the residents of the Pioneers Home for an intergenerational luncheon, which was held in the Great Room at the Pioneers' Home. The purpose of the luncheon was to introduce seniors and youth to the wonderful possibilities of building a mentoring friendship.

Alaska Community Services is a program of the National Senior Service Corp. One of the many programs that they run is the Foster Grandparent Program also known as the Elder Mentor Program. Foster Grandparents help children develop skills, confidence, and strength to succeed. Foster Grandparents can also make their neighborhoods stronger by helping children with special needs achieve their goals.

Intergenerational programs help children improve their school performance, boost self-esteem, connect with their community, learn new cultural and historical perspectives, engage with positive role models, and better appreciate the legacy that seniors have created for them. Seniors on the other hand in such a program, reduce isolation, boost self-esteem, reinforce that they are needed by the community, introduce them to new experiences with children from diverse backgrounds, rekindle the joy of living, stimulate mental capacity, and promote life long learning.

The luncheon was a success as many of the youth left eager to continue a friendship that they just started. The youth of the Boys and Girls Club plan on visiting the Pioneers' Home again for a friendly game of bingo. There was even talk about karaoke time where the youth will learn songs from the 50's and 60's.

Note: If you are 60 years old or older, and you would like to become a mentor to a child, contact Priscilla Barnett at 617-4685 or email priscilla@ southeastbigs.org. Her office is on the 2nd floor of the Ketchikan Senior Center at 1016 Water Street.

SitNews
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Ketchikan, Alaska