Intergenerational programs bring Western Queens residents together to bridge differences in age, language, economic status, and national origin. Benefits flow in both directions: seniors mentor children, serve as "foster grandparents," and share their skills and experience. Children and teenagers give their older friends a sense of purpose and feeling of connectedness, especially when their own families live at a distance.

SENIOR TEACHERS

Seniors spend time in history and social science classes at local high schools, talking about the lifestyle, significant events in the world (or in their personal lives), govenrmental system, political system, and other issues that they experienced when they were young, often in other countries.

DAYS OF BEAUTY

Several times each year, students from a nearby vocational high school come to the Senior Center to give free haircuts, manicures, and facials. The students gain experience, and the seniors relish their "new look."

PEN PALS

Children and seniors exchange greeting cards on holidays throughout the year; children often make their own cards. At the end of the year, intergenerational pen pals meet as the children spend a day serving lunch, performing for, and chatting with their Senior Center friends.