The SMILES (Senior Motivators in Learning and Educational Services) program was initiated in 1977 by Salt Lake City School Volunteers, Inc., a nonprofit organization working with the Salt Lake City School District, as an addition to an established, successful school volunteer program. The purpose of the SMILES program is to recruit and train older…

Describes the "Helpers Promoting Literacy" program to encourage young teens to read aloud to young children and to have both groups evaluate the books being read. Discusses the volunteer training and suggests tips for reading aloud to children. (FMW)

Developed by the Gulf Coast Jewish Family Service, this handbook describes the Adopt-a-Grandchild Program, which matches older volunteers with children in need of adult guidance. The handbook is divided into the following sections: (1) program description; (2) guidelines for professional volunteers; (3) a job description for volunteers; (4)…

The Mechanicsburg Area (Pennsylvania) Phone Pal Program is a telephone reassurance program in which an older volunteer calls a child who is home alone before or after school. Calls are made at the same time each day. These daily calls provide both younger and older persons with a safety verification, in addition to fellowship. Phone Pal is…

Chapter 1 of this document introduces AgeLink, a 5-year model intergenerational child care project for school-age children. The project implemented after-school services that linked children with volunteer older adults in 17 western North Carolina counties. Ten sites participated in the project between 1984 and 1989, and 11 sites currently have…

Family Friends is a nationwide outreach program that enlists the support of senior volunteers in providing nurturing help to children and their parents. Homeless Children is a branch of the program in which volunteers are matched to homeless families with young children, and, during biweekly visits to homeless shelters, become surrogate…

The result of a project that also developed a database of intergenerational child care program, this publication summarizes intergenerational child care programs in which adults age 55 or older provide child care services to infants, toddlers, and school-age children on a volunteer or salaried basis. Chapter 1 provides a rationale for…

In 1986, the National Council on Aging developed the Family Friends program, which brings older people into the homes of children with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Charter programs were implemented in eight cities. These programs are still operating, and programs in other cities are in various stages of development. Since 1989, Family…

Family Friends is a program that matches senior volunteers with families of chronically ill or disabled children. Rural Family Friends, which is an outgrowth of Family Friends, focuses on rural families in distress. Rural Family Friends has established pilot programs in Arkansas, Georgia, New Hampshire, North Carolina, and West Virginia. The…