COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING

What could be more natural than bringing together the eldest and the youngest in our community? Through this remarkable and very successful program, every student at the Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School in Haydenville, Massachusetts spends time each academic year engaged with residents at Hampshire Care Long Term Care Facility, just a mile away.Projects have included yoga, singing, oral history, math games, book-making, painting, intergenerational Olympics, poetry, inventions and much more – reaching into all realms of the school curriculum as students also learn about the health and social issues of aging in their community.

This Community Service Learning project for the students not only helps them understand how they can make a difference in the lives of others, it offers isolated Elders an opportunity to contribute to the education of the children. Both populations are empowered and enriched by the shared experience.

Bridging the Gaps is reliant upon grants and donations for its survival. To find out how you can support this very special program, contact Deirdre Arthen at the Hilltown Cooperative Charter Public School: 413-268-3421 darthen@hilltowncharter.org