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Another important role Grandparents are playing is as volunteers, particularly mentors.  Intergenerational mentoring programs like Foster Grandparents, Experience Corps, and Face to Face (in Gresham) give older adults a chance to use their life experience and love for children to have a positive impact on youth in schools. 

Grandparents can have an amazingly calming influence for kids in the classroom and their is research out there now showing the volunteering has measurable health benefits for the volunteers! Additionally, Foster Grandparents and Experience Corps provide stipends to older adults for their work.

Two for one, right? 

With the new administration giving such a strong call for people to step up and volunteer, let's not forget how valued our grandparents should be and encourage all older adults to engage in programs like these.  Metropolitan Family Service administers a lot of these intergenerational programs in Portland and E. County (www.metfamily.org).  check them out!

posted 4 years, 4 months ago
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