At PCC, we have several programs that bring seniors and kids together to form fun and meaningful relationships. Both groups have so much to teach and learn from each other that the result of these programs is always magical.

Examples of our Intergenerational Programs:

• Holiday sing-a-longs
• Lunches with the preschool students
• Pen-Pal Program with elementary school students
• Gardening with the PCC Junior Planters
• Story-Art Hour the second Wednesday of every month!
• Youth Mentoring Program

“We congratulate Penacook Community Center for its outstanding efforts to improve the lives of Merrimack Valley seniors and hope that their innovative Intergenerational Buddy Bingo Program can serve as a model for senior centers nationwide.” – James Firman, President and CEO of the National Council on Aging

Why Intergenerational Programs?

• 45% of Americans working in retirement say they want to work with youth.
• Older adults learn new innovations and technologies from their younger counterparts.
• Older adults who regularly volunteer with children burn 20% more calories per week, experienced fewer falls, were less reliant on canes and performed better on memory tests than their peers.
• In schools where older adults were a regular fixture, children had more improved reading scores compared to their peers at other schools.
• Youth involved in intergenerational mentoring programs are 46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs, 27% less likely to begin using alcohol and 52% less likely to skip school.
• Children and youth gain positive role models with whom they can interact on a regular basis.