AGE to age: Bringing Generations Together

AmeriCorps Seniors
Senior Demonstration Project

From 2022 to 2024, the Northland Foundation partnered with AmeriCorps Seniors to engage older adult volunteers, ages 55+ to support children and youth in tutoring, out-of-school time, and summer learning activities in 12 AGE to age communities across the region. This two-year AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Demonstration Program grant was made possible by the historic $1 billion investment in AmeriCorps through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to serve communities hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. AGE to age communities used this federal funding to build on their existing programs and continue to help children and youth thrive and reduce social isolation across generations. 

At the end of our second year of implementing the AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Demonstration Program Grant, 540 unduplicated AmeriCorps Seniors volunteers served 4,739 K-12 children and youth across all three service areas, with 4,503 (95%) of those children and youth achieving outcomes of improved academic engagement and/or social emotional skills. 

Examples of programs and activities that AmeriCorps Seniors senior volunteers served in were Reading Pals, pen pal programs, homework help programs, intergenerational community nights, craft activities, community clean-ups, environmental learning activities, and much more.  

 “During our Reading Pals program our students and adults read over 76 books together throughout the school year. Students were able to use the books they practiced with to test at their reading level. The kids were very proud to let their reading pals know they passed each level.” – Cheryl Meld, Something Cool, Inc. (McGregor AGE to age Volunteer Station Coordinator) 

The Northland Foundation is deeply appreciative to have been selected as a grantee for AmeriCorps Seniors Senior Demonstration grant opportunity. This significant grant funding has bolstered the capacity of our AGE to age partners and has expanded senior volunteer engagement in helping K-12 students recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

AGE to age Community Engagement Project

The Northland Foundation’s AGE to age communities, like many other communities, identified the need to re-build, re-ignite, and strengthen intergenerational social engagement and volunteer opportunities due the disruption that occurred from the COVID-19 global pandemic.  

With funding support from state and national initiatives from 2023 to 2025, the Wallace Foundation’s Advancing Adolescent Opportunities and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota Foundation’s Building Healthy Connections, the AGE to age Community Engagement Project is helping to strengthen social connections, reduce isolation, and improve the well-being of children, youth, older adults/elders, and the generations in between through intergenerational programming. 

Participating AGE to age sites engaged community members of all ages in planning meetings and listening sessions to help ensure intergenerational activities and programs are meaningful and relevant to participants, especially young people and older adult volunteers. Following the planning sessions, each AGE to age community received funding to implement new and/or improved intergenerational efforts that address local needs. 

Funding awards of $10,000 to $20,000 are supporting AGE to age Communities with their new and expanded programming. Examples include community garden activities, grand-friends pen pal programming, pollinator clubs, tech and coffee events, reading pals, holiday events, and arts programming. Our partners have served a combined total of 7,407 which includes 4,707 children and youth, 1,590 adults ages 19 to 54, and 110 older adults/elders. 

AGE to age Reading Pals

AGE to age Reading Pals engages AGE to age sites in the region to invite older adult volunteers to read with children during the school year and summer enrichment activities. The program provides reading and literacy support and connections with caring adults for the children participating, and a sense of purpose and opportunity to give back to community for the older adult volunteers.

AGE to age Fellows Program

AGE to age Fellows program grew out of the AGE to age College Intern Program which was launched in 2012 to provide summer internships to college students. This experiential learning opportunity was reimagined in 2020 as the AGE to age Fellows Program where undergraduate students were paired with older adults for paid work opportunities in their home communities, focusing on intergenerational projects and programming. This initiative helped both younger and older generations enhance their leadership skills, increase their knowledge of community building, and contribute fresh ideas and energy to the participating sites. While this program was formally completed in 2022, a number of AGE to age sites are continuing to engage fellows to support their local intergenerational programming.