April 23, 2001
AGE TO AGE:
Buckner program mixes young & old
___By Russ Dilday
___Buckner News Service
___AUSTIN--Seven-year-old Caely has a special friend at Jay Howard Graham Elementary School in Austin. But her friend, Doris Wolf, is nearly 80 years her senior.
___Wolf is a resident of Buck--ner Villas retirement community, where a relatively new program has been launched to match senior adult volunteers with children at the elementaryschool located next door.
PARTICIPANTS in the Partners in Education program, a partnership between Buck--ner Villas and Jay Howard Graham Elementary School in Austin, meet in the school library each Thursday to work on academic skills, share experiences or, like resident Emma Francis and Edward King, work on a craft project.
___The intergenerational program includes activities such as school visits, an Easter egg hunt and a Halloween safe house. In a related move, several children of Buckner Villas employees have adopted residents as their surrogate grandparents and visit them regularly.
___Marketing Director Carole Cox said the program "has made a significant difference in the lives of many of our residents as well as young students at Graham Elementary School and children of our employees. Our program has helped to give these children a sense of community and has enabled our residents to form special friendships with many them."
___"The plan is for our residents to mentor the children," explained Jeff Latham, program director at Buckner Villas. "I think the kids get a chance to look and see what the world is all about. All of a sudden, here come some new faces, a grandma or grandpa figure, and they are giving out hugs, they're giving out kisses, and the kids just melt.
___"For a child who may not have a grandmother anymore or may not have a close-knit family unit, this is where Buckner has the opportunity to continue our ministry," he said. "This is where the kids get that whole feeling of somebody loves me."
___Shakalya, 8, said she loves Nelle Bean, who participates in the Thursday morning trips to the school.
___"I like when she talks to me, and I like when she gives me hugs," Shakalya said. "She's a nice lady. We color, and we like to look at pictures."
___Most of the residents, like Wolf, don't see themselves as volunteers but as friends.
___"I don't volunteer my time over here. I just come over here to visit," Wolf said. "I see it as somebody that is taking good care of kids. Their mothers might not have time at home. If they have some place like this where they have friends, well, they just play better with them and learn from that."
___Latham emphasized that the program is "a two-way street," seeking to benefit the senior adults as well as the children.
___"As we look at the elder population, oftentimes they are isolated in nursing facilities," Latham said. "I think we're striving to be different by pushing the envelope a little bit to get out into the community and do things in our community. Just because you are 90 years old is no reason to truly retire. I think it is best to be in the world that's spinning and to be a ministry to folks who need it."
___"When you are living in a retirement facility, it is hard to feel needed since so many people are constantly taking care of you," said resident Iva Tarver. "The students are very bright and well-behaved. Their minds are so active that all I have to do is to encourage and listen to them. It is a delightful experience for me."
___There's also an occasional bit of unexpected humor to be found.
___One of the residents, upon being matched with a 7-year-old girl, asked the girl, "How old are you?" The girl told her, then asked the resident her age.
___"I'm 87," was the woman's reply. To which the youngster said, "Maybe I ought to get an easier book."
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