The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Day of volunteering connects students, senior citizens through conversation
“Intergenerational mentoring” was prevalent March 7 at the Atria Newell Creek senior living community.
In encounters not usually shared outside of a familial context, senior residents and middle school students engaged in conversation, shared stories and exchanged advice.
Ten eighth-grade students from Memorial Middle School visited Atria Newell Creek in Mentor, bringing out smiles and enjoyable dialogue from several of the residents.
Throughout the morning and afternoon, students branched off, pairing with the seniors and using conversation-topic cards (designed by Atria) to ask questions.
Tiffany Bazan, senior engage life director at Atria Newell Creek, said that seniors have also
“It’s just a great opportunity to bring together the different generations.” — Tiffany Bazan, senior engage life director at Atria Newell Creek
participated in other volunteer opportunities. They do “Civic Engagements” once a month, which has included making blessing bags for the homeless.
“Most of them have volunteered at some point in their life,” Bazan said. “So, for them to be able to do this with students, they just love it. Anything we can do like this to get them to either volunteer or just engage with other people, it’s really rewarding for us and for them.”
The visit was part of “Make a Difference Day,” where groups of Mentor students visited 24 different locations in the area, such as Broadmoor School, Mentor CARES, Mentor Fire Department, Lakeland Community College and Wildwood Cultural Center.
The conversation-topic cards, called “StoryWise,” come in boxes of about 140. Seniors and students shared them during their one-on-ones.
Atria staff also said that some of the stories residents tell using StoryWise are recorded and shared with their families, sometimes including stories that families have never heard.
“Basically (StoryWise) is just asking them questions like ‘how do you deal with a problem?’ and we can see what our seniors would say and what kids today would say, because it’s probably two completely different things,” Bazan said. “We just want to use that to create common ground and conversation and discussion and things like that.”
Resident Tom Offutt told students a few stories about his time working at Yellowstone National Park and running Mountain Glen Farm in Concord Township. The farm hosted an equestrian team as well as some Lake Erie College students in training.
Offutt said that the best advice he could give was: “Don’t grow old, stay young.”
He added that he recovered from a heart attack and stroke about two years ago and has lived at Atria Newell Creek since. Although he commended the staff, Offutt said he hopes to get back to his farm this summer and that he’s “ready to go home.”
Other residents shared their travel experiences, family stories, military service and career advice. One resident-student pair discussed the fact that they both grew up in North Carolina.
“It’s just a great opportunity to bring together the different generations,” Bazan said, “and talk about things that they may have went through in their lives that maybe the students won’t have to go through. And just to share those experiences and perspectives, it’s really a great thing.”