Intergenerational Programs

Published: 2022
By Kayleen Kidwell

In 2022, Anaconda-Deer Lodge County (A-DLC) MSU Extension and the Montana Clovers 4-H Club collaborated with Granite County MSU Extension to receive $500 from the Montana Department of Agriculture Rural Community Development Grant Program. With this funding, 4-H youth in both counties will handmake greeting cards to give to local elders in the Community Nursing Home of Anaconda and the Granite County Medical Center. In 2023, they will also make cards to give to local veterans on Veterans Day. To continue building strong intergenerational programs, MSU Extension applied for funding from the 2022 Governor’s Conference on Aging Mini-Grant Program. After receiving the grant in October, $1,000 worth of games were purchased to assist 4-H youth in hosting game nights at the Smelter City Senior Center in Anaconda and the Philipsburg and Drummond Senior Centers. To foster independence and build planning skills, the 4-H youth in each county will be responsible for communicating with their senior center(s), scheduling a date and time for an event, advertising the program, determining how it will be run, and setting up and breaking down the venue. In 2023, both MSU Extension offices hope to add another intergenerational program related to bibliotherapy and strengthen multi-generational bonds through storytelling.