To jump to 2024-2025 – Click here
2025-2026
Volunteer Grandparents received this Heartwarming Card
One of Linking Generations’ Volunteer Grandparents received this heartwarming card from his assigned teacher and students.
The teacher shared her sentiments: “You’ve made a difference- Your contributions haven’t gone unnoticed!” while inside the card, the grade four students wrote our volunteer personal messages.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
2025 was a year of Connection, Growth, and Celebration for Linking Generations.
Our programs continue to be grounded in sharing, caring and learning.
Our Christmas visit at Heartland Housing Clover Bar Lodge brought our Ecole Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) students together with their linked seniors, to share traditions and stories from past and present days.
Our linked teams also decorated cookies and played a snowman dice game.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Linking Generations Volunteer Grandparent Program
Our Linking Generations Volunteer Grandparent Program offers seniors more opportunities to help bridge the multi-generational gap. The Volunteer Grandparent Program was created in response to a lack of opportunities for young and older generations to relate in an increasingly age-segregated society.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Our Ecole Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) students arrived at Heartland Housing Clover Bar Lodge ready to celebrate Christmas
Our Ecole Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) students arrived at Heartland Housing Clover Bar Lodge ready to celebrate Christmas with their linked seniors.
A game of Christmas Trivia was played, with a resounding amount of laughter following.
Question: Which popular Christmas beverage is also called “milk punch?”
Answer: Eggnog
Question: What did the other reindeer not let Rudolph do because of his shiny red nose?
Answer: Join in any reindeer games
Question: How many ghosts show up in A Christmas Carol?
Answer: Four
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Chartwell Emerald Hills senior enjoyed their afternoon with their linked students from Lakeland Ridge Junior High School
Our Chartwell Emerald Hills senior participants enjoyed their afternoon visit with their linked students from Lakeland Ridge Junior High School.
The teams played Christmas Trivia and spent time crafting together. Our students were very interested in hearing some old traditions of Christmas past that our seniors shared.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Capital Care Strathcona and Ecole Pere Kenneth Kearns Elementary School celebrate Christmas Early !
This visit was a huge success.
Linking Generations assisted in bringing 45 grade 3 & 4 students from their school choir group to perform for the seniors at Capital Care Strathcona with generous help from their school principal, the help from Alyre Morin. Approximately 30/35 seniors attended along with some Capital Care staff and family of the seniors.
Students were accompanied by their music teacher and choir leader on piano and they sang an assortment of church hymns and Christmas carols. The seniors loved this. Afterwards, the students gathered to read their story books to the seniors.
Linking Generations extends a huge thank you to our partnership school, senior facility and the seniors families.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Our St. Nicholas Elementary School grade two students visited our Sherwood Care seniors
What a great intergenerational connection: Our St. Nicholas Elementary School grade two students and our Sherwood Care seniors made handmade Christmas cards, which are to be left at Sherwood Care, and helped their seniors create cards as well.
We sang some Christmas carols and brought in the Christmas spirit. Some students were able to colour a Christmas manger scene as well to be left to decorate the lodge.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Fantastic visit today with our junior high students from JP Paul School and our Heartland Housing Dr Turner Lodge seniors
What a fantastic visit today with our junior high students from JP Paul School and our Heartland Housing Dr Turner Lodge seniors.
Teams did “school life” questions together asking what school was like in the seniors’ youth vs school life now. Later, everyone played some trivia. Some great conversations were heard.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Our Ecole Pere Kenneth Elementary students read to their linked seniors from Capital Care Strathcona
What a fun afternoon! Our Ecole Pere Kenneth Elementary students read to their linked seniors from Capital Care Strathcona and played charades.
Some of the seniors got very involved acting out the charades along with their matched students.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Elementary students played cards with seniors from Summerwood Seniors Residences
Our elementary students played cards with seniors from Summerwood Seniors Residences this week, and fun was had by all.
Everyone enjoys playing cards for a variety of reasons, including the social interaction and bonding they provide, the mental stimulation and challenge of strategic thinking, and the stress relief and mood improvement from a fun, engaging activity.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Lakeland Ridge Junior High School and Chartwell Emerald Hills visit
Linking Generations is so thankful for the invaluable opportunity to connect our youth from Lakeland Ridge School and those seniors from Chartwell Emerald Hills.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
École Père Kenneth Kearns Catholic Elementary School and CapitalCare Strathcona connecting through Games
Our intergenerational visit today was spent with seniors and students connecting through playing card games and board games.
Each student team was also asked to learn more about their seniors by asking them specific questions about them. Ie: what was your past occupation/ Did you walk to school? etc.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
St. Nicholas Elementary students brighten the day of our Sherwood Park Seniors
Our St. Nicholas Elementary students brighten the day of our Sherwood Park Seniors.
After settling in, exchanging hellos and hugs, the teams played Fall Bingo and tic tac toe dice game.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Lady of Perpetual Help students visiting with their seniors from Heartland Housing Clover bar Lodge
Our Lady of Perpetual Help students spent the afternoon visiting with their linked seniors from Heartland Housing Clover bar Lodge, playing a game called “Would you Rather”.
Would you rather travel around the world?
Or would you rather buy a luxurious sports car?
There was much laughter and sharing.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
2nd visit at Summerwood Seniors Residences with our Holy Spirit Elementary School students
Linking Generations hosted our 2nd visit at Summerwood Seniors Residences with our Holy Spirit Elementary School students. Our grade one students coloured “Give Thanks” and scarecrow pictures that were then left at the lodge to decorate the facility.
After this, our teams played “Race To The Top” dice game and students asked the seniors several program led questions. i.e. what is your favourite food, how old are you etc.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
2nd visit at Capital Care Strathcona with our Ecole Pere Kenneth Elementary students
Linking Generations hosted our 2nd visit at Capital Care Strathcona with our Ecole Pere Kenneth Elementary students. Our grade one students coloured “Give Thanks” and scarecrow pictures that were then left at the lodge to decorate the facility.
After this, our teams played “Race To The Top” dice game and students asked the seniors several program led questions. i.e. what is your favourite food, how old are you etc.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Students from St. Nicholas Elementary School bring laughter and smiles to our Sherwood Care residents
Linking Generations Share and Care Programs allow our younger generations of students to visit regularly with seniors who are now in their latter stages of life and living in long term care facilities. Students read their “easy readers” to our seniors or sit at a table playing snakes and ladders. Both activities bring the seniors so much joy, and a sense of belonging once again.
Our students from St. Nicholas Elementary School bring laughter and smiles to our Sherwood Care residents.
Intergenerational programming is a great way to connect individuals across generations. A fantastic opportunity to share, learn, and engage with each other. The Share and Care Program encourages the young and the old to share quality time through fun, hands-on activities.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
First visit with Clover Bar Lodge seniors with Ecole Our Lady of Perpetual Help Junior High students
It gives us great pride to be back in Heartland Housing Clover Bar Lodge to kick off our 2025-2026 program year.
Clover Bar Lodge was our first senior facility to join Linking Generations in 2004, and remains partnered with the same school from that year as well. Our ‘Ecole Our Lady of Perpetual Help’ Junior High students enjoy visiting with their newly linked seniors over the Linking Generations Game.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Lakeland Ridge students visiting with their newly linked seniors at Chartwell Emerald Hills
As we kick off our programs for 2025-2026, it gives all of us at Linking Generations a pleasure to watch as new friendships are created.
Students and seniors alike were thrilled to be back and conversations occurred easily. Our Lakeland Ridge students enjoy visiting with their newly linked seniors at Chartwell Emerald Hills.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Capital Care Strathcona had a great time meeting our Ecole Pere Kenneth Kearns Students
Our Linking Generations seniors from Capital Care Strathcona had a great time meeting our Ecole Pere Kenneth Kearns grade four class this week.
Students were excited to kick off the program year spending time reading to the seniors and playing our newly created “Let’s Get Acquainted” Linking Generations Game.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Summerwood Seniors Residence had a great time meeting our Holy Spirit Students
Our Linking Generations seniors from Summerwood Seniors Residence had a great time meeting our Holy Spirit grade three class this week.
Students were excited to kick off the program year spending time reading to the seniors and playing our newly created “Let’s Get Acquainted” Linking Generations Game.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
2024-2025
County Clothes-Line Foundation Community Partnership
We are so fortunate to live in a community where doing for others just comes naturally. And of course, with funding dollars from the County Clothes-Line Foundation, it makes it much easier for all of us at Linking Generations to continue to offer our intergenerational programs to our community seniors and youth. We value our long time partnership and truly am grateful.
Thank you County Clothes-Line Foundation.
Spring Tea for the Silver Birch Lodge/Haven Seniors Residences seniors hosted by the OLPH students
Each year, our partnership school, Ecole Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH), invites our seniors from Silver Birch Lodge/Haven Seniors Residences to attend a Spring Tea in their honor.
Our seniors are excited and thrilled about this annual event as they not only get to visit with their link students outside the senior facility, they experience what it feels like to be back in a school.
This year was extra special as Linking Generations ensured that the seniors had proper transportation to and from school ! Our seniors came off the bus elated about the bus ride.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Arriving in Style
Enjoying the Tea
Seniors Heading Home
Family Meet and Greet for Dr Turner Lodge and St. John Paul Middle School
Linking Generations held their Annual Family Meet and Greet Evening at Dr Turner Lodge recently. This annual event is held to recognize the intergenerational connections made between seniors and youth in our community.
Our mentoring Linking Generations Seniors are an integral part of our Linking Generations program, and we each year we encourage our senior and youth participants to each share our program success with their families. Each senior and student is asked to invite ‘ONE’ family member to attend our special evening.
The Family Meet and Greet is like a regular Linking Generations visit, as there is a structured activity planned to do together.
A few of our comments received at our event were:
- Thanks so much for the great evening experiencing the Linking Generations events. The seniors and the students are both blessed to be able to experience the bonds that bind their lives – sharing ideas and learning from each other.
- Simply put – this is a lovely program. The connection between the youth and the seniors is just what the world needs, not the regression of generations we normally see.
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Spring Tea for the Clover Bar Lodge seniors hosted by the OLPH students
Each year, our partnership school, Ecole Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH), invites our seniors from Cloverbar Lodge to attend a Spring Tea in their honor.
Our seniors are excited and thrilled about this annual event as they not only get to visit with their link students outside the senior facility, they experience what it feels like to be back in a school.
This year was extra special as Linking Generations ensured that the seniors had proper transportation to and from school ! Our seniors came off the bus elated about the bus ride !
(click on a picture to enlarge)
Arriving in Style
Enjoying the Tea
Blind Senior gets Card with Braille Writing
Seniors Heading Home
Grandpa Bernie at Madonna School
The message below is on a post from the Madonna Catholic School Facebook page.
Today was a special day! Grandpa Bernie shared some amazing items from the past with our grade 4 students. It was a trip down memory lane as they got to see and touch things that tell the story of the past. From an old phone to an 8 track cassette, it was a wonderful way for our students to learn about history. Thank you, Grandpa Bernie, for making the past come alive!
(click on a picture to enlarge)
linkinggenerations.ca 