The Benefits of Intergenerational Wisdom-Sharing: A Randomized Controlled Study.

Adolescents' opportunities to benefit from the life wisdom of older persons are very limited. To address this issue, we designed and tested the Building a Community Legacy Together (BCLT) program based on research on the benefits of older people's wisdom for youth development. In the intervention, the youth participants were trained prior to conducting interviews with older persons regarding their advice for living. The youth participants analyzed the information obtained and presented a summary report to the community. The participants were 93 middle and high school youth who were randomly assigned to the treatment condition with the BCLT program (n = 47) or to the control condition (n = 46). The outcome measures included sense of purpose, self-esteem, attitudes toward older people, confidence interacting with older people, and interest in working with older people. Quantitative and qualitative data were also collected regarding the subjective assessments of the program's success. We found significant positive effects for the BCLT participants regarding their sense of purpose in life, attitudes toward older people, comfort interacting with older people, and interest in working with older people. The subjective assessments of the participants were overwhelmingly positive. The findings indicate that BCLT had positive effects for the youth participants and support the further development and testing of wisdom-sharing intergenerational programs.

Engaging Older Adults in Environmental Volunteerism: The Retirees in Service to the Environment Program.

Purpose of the Study: Retirees in Service to the Environment (RISE) is a program designed to promote participation of older people in volunteering for the environment. Based on principles of adult learning and best practices for the development of effective volunteer programs, RISE engaged older individuals in environmental volunteering and involved them in community stewardship activities. Design and Methods: This article details the development and formative evaluation of RISE. We describe program assessment, benefits to the community, and effects on participants. Results: The program successfully recruited individuals new to environmental volunteering and substantial hours of volunteer time were provided to communities. Program satisfaction was high and preliminary evidence suggests positive outcomes from RISE participation. Implications: The innovative structure combined with local relevance of the RISE program has the potential to expand older adults' engagement in environmental volunteerism.