Dunn County 4-H strives to provide its youth with ways to bridge communication gaps especially with older generations, so when Kathy Asper of Menomonie, Wisconsin approached the Dunn County 4-H Educator, Zachary Rozmiarek with a multigenerational program idea that would give 4-H youth the chance to interview some of the residents of the Neighbors of Dunn County Nursing Home to learn their stories, he was intrigued. “When an interesting idea for a program comes along that not only fosters connections and communication but also provides opportunities to develop mutual respect between different age groups, we are all in,” said Rozmiarek.
According to Asper, she learned about such a cross-generational project at a story telling conference at which a 4th grade teacher was a guest speaker. “It was touching to hear how many of the friendships that developed between her students and their storytelling partners that continued many years after the project ended,” said Asper, “The thought of developing a similar project has fascinated me ever since, so I’m looking forward to sharing it in Dunn County with our amazing 4H staff.” The Generation Celebration program is a five-session hybrid series. Three sessions will be in person and two will be virtual.
Prior to interviewing the residents, there will be two workshop sessions for youth led by Asper, a recently retired public health educator, where the youths will learn interviewing techniques and come up with the questions that they think are interesting to ask the residents about. This will increase the likelihood of a stronger intergenerational connection. By having the residents talk with their youth friend, it will give them a chance to become a mentor to them by talking about themselves and memories that they think are important.
Once the youths have conducted the interview, there will be a virtual workshop where they will share what they learned during the interviews and hear about good public speaking skills so they can best tell the residents’ stories. They will then share them during a Generation Celebration Day at Neighbors on April 28 where the youths, the residents and their families will gather.
According to Alyssa Stelter, Neighbors Life Enhancement Mentor/Volunteer Coordinator, intergenerational programming is a great way to bring together older and younger generations that may not happen in day-to-day life. Stelter said, “There are so many things that both the kids and the older adults can learn from each other. The Generation Celebration will provide a way for that learning to happen in a fun way. There is always so much joy when kids visit our residents.” She is hoping that this project will open a door for the kids to meet a new friend and potentially for them to continue to visit and volunteer after the program is over. She continued, “This project is a great opportunity to have the kids and residents make meaningful connections while also building life skills like interviewing, writing, and communicating with those from different ages and backgrounds.”
The 4-H Generation Celebration Program also received a $250 grant from Thrivent to help fund the multigenerational project. Dunn County 4-H has decided to open this program up to the public so any youth in grades 3rd-12th may also join in. To register for the Generation Celebration Program, go to https://go.wisc.edu/generationcelebration. Registration for the program closes on April 6th. The first workshop session will be on April 11 at the Dunn County Government Building.
