At Öregrunds School in Sweden, senior volunteers are a regular part of school life, supporting students and teachers once a week. The collaboration between school staff and a senior association involves older volunteers being on site weekly, a partnership that has been ongoing for a year and become an appreciated part of the school day. Research shows that meetings between children and older people can have positive effects on both the brain and social well-being.
Principal Margareta Rahm Jansson says the aim is to create a safe and warm environment where both children and seniors benefit from each other. Senior volunteers Lars-Gunnar Bråvander and Anita Karlsson report learning a lot from the children, with Karlsson noting it is warming and meaningful to help the children at the school, especially as she does not have grandchildren nearby.
the aim is to create a safe and warm environment where both children and seniors benefit from each other
it is warming and meaningful to help the children at the school, especially as she does not have grandchildren nearby