A celebration of the generations
A celebration of intergenerational linking involving 180 people from across age and social spectrums took place at the Mercure Bankfield hotel in Bradford earlier this week.
The event, organised by The Linking Network, brought together representatives from 28 schools and older people’s setting from across the Bradford district.
Linda Cowie Director at The Linking Network said “We really wanted the afternoon to be a celebration – with lovely food, gifts, and stories from the project – a really special day for everyone involved. It’s a way of saying thank you to all the people who give their time and effort to build intergenerational links within their community.
“The joy that intergenerational social experiences bring to people’s lives is priceless. It helps to break down barriers, demystify stereotypes and bond communities together.”
The Linking Network helps schools build links with a local older person’s setting. That might be a care home, retirement living complex, or even an exercise group.
Linda continues; “These are long term links with ongoing commitments from both sides to arrange opportunities for the young and older people to meet up, share experiences and build valuable relationships. Our role at The Linking Network is to establish initial relationships and then offer support where needed.”
Goodwin House, a retirement living home in Queensbury owned by Incommunities is one of the settings which has benefitted from the intergenerational link building. Naseem Akhtar, the Retirement Housing Officer based at Goodwin House said, “The event this week was absolutely lovely. We were so pleased to be invited and treated to such a wonderful afternoon.
“We started our link with Trinity Academy Bradford school in 2021 at a time when there were still covid restrictions in place. So, for the first year our residents and the children exchanged letters, pictures and made small gifts for each other.
“Now the young people are able to visit Goodwin House I have witnessed first-hand the immense value of intergenerational link building.
“The young people have come in to play board games with the residents and in a few weeks, they are bringing their musical instruments in to play for the residents – it’s brilliant. The residents get so much from these experiences, and it’s clear that the students do too.
Resident of Goodwin House Ann, Nick Gadsby a teacher at Trinity Academy Bradford, Linda Cowie from The Linking Network, Joyce a resident from Goodwin House, Trinity Academy Students Aaron and Ben, Mona Ravandi a teacher at Trinity Academy and Jack a resident at Goodwin House
Joyce Blues a resident at Goodwin House said “I look forward to the visits from the children. There are lots of people living at Goodwin house who don’t have a lot of family able to visit them, so having the children come to see us can really lift the mood. It’s great to sit and have a chat with them, find out their interests and what they are up to at school.”
Gracie, a year 7 student at Trinity Academy Bradford who visited Goodwin House said: “I really enjoyed visiting Goodwin House, it was so enjoyable playing bingo with the residents, we all had such a laugh playing together. I would love to go back in the future and speak to the residents further.”
The Linking Network aim to bridge the gap between communities, cultures and generations. Empowering teachers to confidently support children and young people to explore their own and other people’s identities, by bringing younger and older people together to share time, experiences, stories, and build connections. They currently support 52 intergenerational links in Bradford.