ACTIVE AGE | Children, seniors pair up to make the world a bit kinder

There's so much for seniors and children to learn from each other, and through her work with Kids for Peace, Meg Jansen is part of that.

As peace pledge program director for the nonprofit, she works with hundreds of chapter leaders in more than 100 countries to develop training and resources, facilitate communication and other tasks. One of those other tasks is leading the nonprofit's Grandfriends Kindness Project.

"The Grandfriends Kindness Project is a yearlong, intergenerational program that connects our younger and older Carlsbad citizens, offering an uplifting opportunity to work together to create a culture of kindness and connection," she says. "The purpose is to bring this outreach to a new level and develop friendships among younger and older citizens by partnering on a regular basis to complete acts of kindness and celebrate the joy of community."

Kids for Peace has two signature programs: The peace pledge, which helps kids put the words of the pledge into action in ways that are meaningful and culturally relevant; and the kindness challenge, which is a school-wide bullying prevention program. The Grandfriends Kindness Project builds on the kindness challenge.

Jansen, 42, lives in Carlsbad, Calif., with her husband and their two boys. She took some time to talk about her work with the project, and her commitment to serving her community and making a positive impact on children.

 

Q: Walk us through how the project works.

A: The Grandfriends Kindness Project is an extension of The Great Kindness Challenge, which provides every student access to a checklist of 50 kind acts, empowering them to create a culture of kindness at their school. The Grandfriends edition of that checklist was created specifically for The Grandfriends Kindness Project. It is also a list of 50 kind acts that are to be completed over the course of 10 months. Each month, a group of older and younger Carlsbad citizens come together to complete five acts. By June 2020, all 50 acts will have been completed. Thanks to the generosity of the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation, participation in The Grandfriends Kindness Project is free. It is also open to the public, which means our attendance varies from month to month. We had about 45 participants at each of our first two events.

 

Q: Why was this project something you wanted to do?

A: Now, more than ever, our world needs more kindness, compassion and connection. I wanted to do this to strengthen our community and make people feel better. Studies have proven the health benefits of kindness: it reduces stress and anxiety, improves heart health, prevents illness, makes people happier, and it can even prolong life. These two generations are precious jewels in our society and we need to take care of them. In addition, many children don't have their grandparents nearby (my boys included), and vice versa. This is a way for both generations to feel that bond and connection that they may be missing with distant relatives.

 

Q: I read that one of the goals of the program is to pair younger and older Carlsbad citizens together "to create a culture of kindness"? How do you define this "culture of kindness"? What does it look like?

A: A culture of kindness is one where compassion, acceptance, understanding, patience and love are automatic responses to everyday interactions. It's an environment where every heart is so full of gratitude that when hardship rolls in, there is no hesitation about coming together, rolling up our sleeves, digging deep, and lifting each other up.

 

Q: What is unique to the pairing of kids and seniors that can help create a culture of kindness?

A: There is so much for kids and seniors to learn from one another. By honoring their elders, children are able to tap into the wisdom of our senior citizens that kids might otherwise not be exposed to. Pairing seniors with youth surrounds them with boundless energy that can be contagious, inspires them to embrace a youthful spirit and provides them with insight and hope for the future.

 

Q: What sorts of things have these pairs done so far?

A: Our September event was themed "Planting a Friendship." We played a get-to-know-you game to check off the kind act to "discover something you have in common with someone from another generation." We practiced proper handshakes to solidify the kind act to "make a new friend." We decorated pots and planted succulents in the outdoor courtyard of the senior center to check off the kind acts of "take a walk outside," "make a craft with a Grandfriend," and "help plant a garden." The beautifully decorated pots were given to homebound seniors along with decorated notes of love and friendship.

Our October event was "What's Your Story?" and participants interviewed each other to check off their sixth kind act, "learn five new things about a friend." The local library brought their library-on-wheels program so that participants could check off the next kind act, "read a book with a friend." They made bookmarks and decided whether to donate their creation to our local library or to the Kids for Peace School of Kenya for the kind act, "make a bookmark." They wrote little thank you notes to the library to complete the kind act, "thank a librarian."

Finally, participants brought books to the event to donate to The Kids for Peace School of Kenya and check off the kind act, "donate a new (or like-new) book to a classroom."

 

Q: Why is building connections between older and younger people in Carlsbad important?

A: The seniors in our community are full of beautiful stories and knowledge that should be passed on to future generations. It's important to engage the bookends of our society in a recurring event that supports this connection and offers a platform to share these stories.

 

Q: What do you hope the kids and seniors get from this program?

A: I hope they experience the true joy of kindness. I hope they feel a sense of belonging. I hope they see how we're all connected. I hope they discover that genuine friendships can form from seemingly unlikely pairs.

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