The Classroom Grandparents Program is an intergenerational program that encourages intentional one-on-one relationship building, mentoring and tutoring as the foundation for success in school and in life. Older adults teach, guide and share life experience with children; children teach and appreciate older adults and share the wonder of mastering new competencies. Children also keep older adults in step with their young worlds, such as new technologies, trending topics and their ideas and dreams. These relationships are mutually beneficial and often life-altering for both the children and their senior-age mentors.
Basically, our Classroom Grandparent Program is committed to helping at-risk children, training to tutor, coach and nurture, eager to celebrate our outcomes together, and mutually strengthen the future of our communities.
The goals of our Classroom Grandparent Program are consistent with service area assessment feedback that details what seniors need and want to “live well and age in place” for as long as they want by:
- Developing opportunities for older people willing to share their experience, abilities, and skills for the betterment of their community and themselves through service to children and youth.
- Ensuring that volunteer assignments are consistent with the interests and abilities of the volunteers and the needs of their community.
- Ensuring that volunteers receive a meaningful orientation, in-service instruction, individual support, oversight and recognition for their volunteer service.
- Providing reasonable opportunity for community and volunteer involvement for developing, operating and appraising the FGP projects.
- Developing strong local support to supplement available federal sources and ensure the program expenses are the lowest possible to produce an effective operation, as required by CHCS’s legislation.
- Cooperating and building coalitions with agencies and organizations involved in the fields of aging, volunteerism and child welfare.
- Establishing a sound, locally controlled senior volunteer program with continuing community support.