Marissa Fernandez @mcknightsseniorliving.com reports about a special program at Magnolia Glen.
Handwritten letters, homemade crafts and treats such as popsicles are just some of the items exchanged through a cross-generational program between North Carolina first-graders and residents in a nearby independent living and assisted living community.
The program pairs Green Magnet Elementary School students with residents from Magnolia Glen, a Kisco Senior Living community, which allows students and residents to create one-on-one connections. One of those pairs includes a deaf student and a former educator of deaf students.
“It really, really brightened the residents’ day. It gave them such purpose,” said Kara Smith, Magnolia Glen’s sales director.
Smith started the program earlier this year in collaboration with her daughter’s first-grade teacher, Maria Truitt.
“I want my own children to experience the joy and the depth of relationships of people who are in different age ranges than they are, in different life stages than they are, who have walked through different stories and different seasons of life,” Smith told McKnight’s Senior Living.
The letters represent “the little joys in life” with students asking questions about favorite colors and food, Truitt said in a press release. She added that the letters are exchanged every few weeks and they have helped build meaningful relationships across generations.
In addition to letters, Smith said that both residents and children often sent crafts or pictures. Many artists live in Magnolia Glen and loved the paintings made by the first graders, she said.
“It doesn’t have to just be limited to letter writing. There’s a lot of other creative ways that we can connect students with senior adults,” Smith said.
Plans already are underway to continue the program next school year, she said, adding that she hopes to help coordinate a field trip for students to visit Magnolia Glen and meet their pen pals in person.
“Community is so vital to senior adults. Community is so vital to children,” Smith said. “That is something that doesn’t matter what age you are, we need to experience the connection of community.”