Words of Wisdom
Connecting generations to make a difference together.
Words of Wisdom is a creative intergenerational initiative encouraging young people to carry out acts of kindness for isolated and lonely older neighbours, and in exchange, capture Words of Wisdom that can be applied to their lives now.
Over 500 young people have been engaged in Words of Wisdom from nursery classes organising tea parties and year 6 pupils leading ‘chatter lunches’ to teenagers actively engaged in arts projects, gardening and IT support for isolated neighbours, lonely residents in care homes and vulnerable members of their local community.
Words of Wisdom can be delivered individually, in small groups, as a class, whole school or community approach. It can be a one-off project over a few weeks but works most effectively when ongoing links and relationships are grown over time with young people and their local community.
Play the video below to find out more about Words of Wisdom and click here to explore it further.
There are 4 simple steps to Words of Wisdom where you will also find the enabler’s notes and resources:
We Care
We Care helps you explore the needs of older people in your local community and identify an issue facing them that is meaningful to you and one where you feel you can make a difference.
We Count
We Count enables you to pinpoint where you can make the greatest difference to older people’s lives by maximising the skills that you both love using and are good at.
We Contribute
We Contribute helps you bring a SMILE to an older persons face by sharing your skills for something meaningful that makes an impact, leaves a legacy and engages everyone (SMILE).
We Connect
We Connect provides you with a questioning framework to ask older people their words of wisdom based on their life experiences that can provide inspiration to your own.