Nazareth class forges intergenerational friendships
As the Rochester area's population ages, some are aiming to keep seniors engaged in society rather than segregated into isolated communities.
Nazareth College has teamed up with St. John's Meadows, which provides housing for seniors in Brighton, in an initiative that both helps prepare students for careers working with elders and brings St John's residents into closer touch with the community.
Students taking a course called Aging & Community Service this semester held class at St. John's — and concluded these weekly sessions with presentations Tuesday about their community projects.
St. John's likes to use the term "elders" to describe its residents because the name helps give them the respect they deserve, said Duane Girdner, vice president for marketing at St. John's.
The last session of the class culminated with the holding of a Pinewood Derby, which featured wood-block miniature cars racing on a track about 30 feet long, pulled by gravity to the finish line.
The derby – one of four community projects for this class – had students and elders teaming up with youths from Cub Scout Pack 2000 of the city of Rochester to design, craft and race their miniature vehicles. Members of the scout group had visited St. John's on three recent Saturdays to collaborate.
"If you have a goal that you are working for, age doesn't make any difference," said Jerri Hanel, 41, a Nazareth nursing student with a minor in gerontology who helped with the derby project over the past month.
The winner of Tuesday's derby was Cameron Gause, 7, who proudly held up his victorious vehicle, "The Blur."
"It was great," said Cameron, who then eagerly posed for a photo with Sam Boni, 88, a St. John's resident who had high praise for Cameron's patience and persistence in designing the car, which is about the size of a hand. "He did everything suggested," noted Boni.
Any mistrust and discomfort evident at the first meeting of these three generations soon disappeared.
"By the third meeting, we were calling each other by first names," said Wendy Belt, 49, a junior from Pittsford majoring in social work with a minor in gerontology.
Working on this project reminded St. John's resident Eleanor Volpe of the 57 years she spent as a teacher. "It has been very enriching for the youngsters – but also for us," said Volpe, 85.
David Steitz, an associate professor of psychology who heads up the gerontology program at Nazareth, explained how these community projects come together.
"So what these students do for their community projects is to identify potential partners and design these kinds of projects by bringingpeople together and to address some need," said Steitz, who teaches the class at St. John's.
The other community projects for this class are a Holistic Wellness Fair, a Taste of the World: An Intergenational Event, and Gold Flyers Groceries.
Andrea Frey, 19, a sophomore majoring in occupational therapy from Inlet, Hamilton County, said that the discussion each week at St. John's focused on building communities.
"The whole idea of the course is that we are confronting segregation of elders," she said.
JGOODMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com