Senior to Senior

SENIOR TO SENIOR

- Sue Kujawa - 

The goal of the Senior to Senior Program, sponsored by the Pasadena Education Foundation (PEF), is to bridge the gap between our community’s youth and older adults through mutually beneficial engagement. This engagement not only supports the learning of essential life skills for the student volunteers but creates meaningful connections between generations.

This past July 12 Pasadena Village members were paired up with 12 high school seniors (and some juniors) from Pasadena Unified School District.  They made a commitment to speak to each other at least once a week during the school semester.  The students received community service credits – for phone calls in place of pre-COVID community service projects.

The Pasadena Village “seniors” acquired a greater understanding of the stresses young people are experiencing and developed a deeper appreciation of the damage being done by the pandemic.  High school seniors recounted their days spent at the computer, struggling with AP Physics complicated by internet interruptions.  They shared stories of the dilemmas they faced applying for colleges, and we shared our own memories of those anxiety-ridden days.

 Village member Toni Johnson was impressed by her student’s diligence with all of her courses, and her persistence in seeking out help with areas of difficulty.  “Additionally, it was wonderful to hear how teachers made extra time to answer students’ questions, even outside of school hours.”  Leni Fleming told her student about her experiences during the Vietnam War protests and the 60’s Civil Rights movement.  Leni said, “To my student these events were distant, unrelated-able history until we had our conversations about them.”

The PEF senior to senior program is an example of the ways in which members of the Pasadena Village reach out and connect with younger members of our community.  It is part of our goal to strengthen our connections across generations, cultures, and races – to sustain the vitality of our Village community and to leave the world in a better place.

For more information about the PEF Senior to Senior program or to sign up for the Spring Semester go to https://pasedfoundation.org/get-involved/volunteer/seniortosenior