A Great Time to "Intergenerate"
09/09/2020
One of the lessons of COVID-19 is that connections with other people matter. Thankfully, despite isolation and social distancing, we have other ways to connect and communicate. While it is natural to gravitate to our peers, this is also a great time to connect with younger generations. One organization, Encore.org, is all about intergeneration connections. Through their "Gen2Gen" initiative, Encore.org is encouraging oldsters like us to find ways to interact with youngsters.
Encore's "10 Organizations Connecting Generations During the Pandemic" lists opportunities to make connections from your own home in ways that could be meaningful to both you and others. You can answer young people's career questions, you can be a young person's email pen pal, or you can engage in online mentoring. It's up to you how much time you'd like to invest and the means of communication you'd be interested in utilizing.
As Encore, reports, Boomers and older Americans aren't the only ones feeling the stress of pandemic isolation -- younger generations feel it too. A win-win situation could be intergenerational communication, says Encore: "While the pandemic continues to spread throughout the U.S., innovators — from all parts of the country and of all ages — are ushering in new ways to connect the generations, easing social isolation for both generations. They’re connecting strangers for caring calls, bringing together pen pals from different generations, and providing homework help to young people whose parents could use a break."
Encore.org is a great resource for remote intergenerational activities, but chances are there are opportunities in your local community to make connections with younger generations that don't involve face-to-face contact. It could be a refreshing, revitalizing experience at a time when we all need a lift.
HappilyRewired.com is a Top 75 Baby Boomer Blog.
Comments