Seniors and Youth

In keeping with our mission to bring the generations together for their mutual enrichment, DOROT offers a wide variety of intergenerational programs. These include a growing number of activities for seniors and the young, from kindergartners through university students. Our programs emphasize friendship, shared interests, and the infinite capacity of people of all ages to learn from each other.

››  Intergenerational Book Club
››  Bubbe’s Bakery
››  Computer Training at DOROT
››  E-mail Pals
››  Family Circle
››  Intergenerational Arts and Crafts
››  Mentorships
››  Oral History Projects
››  Phone Pals

Intergenerational Book Club
Share your love of books and exchange ideas in this intergenerational book club for seniors and schoolchildren. Participants read the same book, then gather at a school or at DOROT’s headquarters on the Upper West Side to discuss the book. A facilitator leads the discussion.

Bubbe’s Bakery
No experience is necessary and all skill levels are welcome at DOROT’s baking program for seniors and families with children aged 5–10. Talk, laugh, and bake traditional Jewish delicacies, then eat them at an intergenerational tea party. DOROT provides all the materials.

Computer Training at DOROT
In DOROT’s Computer Lab on the seventh floor of our Upper West Side headquarters, teenage Computer Corps volunteers employ their expertise to demystify computer use and teach seniors a variety of skills. Topics range from surfing the Internet to sending and receiving e–mail to using applications such as Microsoft Word. Sessions are scheduled at the mutual convenience of seniors and volunteers.
DOROT also offers computer training in your home.

E–mail Pals
It’s the 21st Century version of pen pals, across the generations and over the Web. Teens are matched with seniors learning computer skills. As they build a relationship through correspondence, the seniors hone their skills and the teens benefit from their e-mail pals’ accumulated experience.

Family Circle
DOROT’s Family Circle program is a premiere source of intergenerational friendship and childhood education in community values. Seniors share their life experiences with the young, while families with children aged 412 enrich the lives of the elderly. Families in this program receive a thorough orientation in visiting etiquette, and before each visit children receive workbooks with conversation and activity suggestions. Each family visits their older friend on Sundays before holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, Tu B’Shevat, and Passover, bringing with them holiday packages and gifts provided by DOROT.

Intergenerational Arts and Crafts
In these collaborative programs that successfully connect the generations through art, students and seniors meet at schools or at DOROT’s headquarters on the Upper West Side to participate in creative group projects. Past intergenerational programs have included photography, quilting, knitting, musical theater, murals, and collage–making.

Mentorships
Seniors can share the benefits of their accumulated knowledge and experience by mentoring students or younger adults who are interested in spending time with and learning from a more mature person. Activities can range from conversation to helping a younger person master a new language or a musical instrument, playing chess, or crocheting. Mentorship partners meet once or on an ongoing basis at mutually convenient times and locations.

Oral History Projects
A senior’s unique story is one of the most valuable gifts he or she can give to the younger generation. In this program, students visit seniors to conduct oral histories, and share copies of their final projects with the elders whose lives they have documented.

Phone Pals
These telephone friendships bring together DOROT teens and seniors living in and outside the Manhattan area for ongoing conversation, discussion and shared reflection. Calls are scheduled at the mutual convenience of the older and younger friends.