New project launched to bridge age gap
A new project that will see schoolchildren in Northamptonshire teach older people how to use mobile phones, eBay and Facebook, has been officially launched.
The county is one of 12 areas that have been chosen by the government to receive 300,000 over the next two years to implement the School of Life project.
The scheme, which was launched at the Central Library in Northampton yesterday, will involve younger people sharing their technical know-how with older people who, in turn, will pass on their life skills such as DIY, learning how to budget and car maintenance.
Doreen Shelmerdine, aged 81, who will be taking part in the project, said: "I'm taking an Open University course and a lot of it is computers, so the course will help me with that and stop me from feeling sorry for myself.
"I will be teaching the younger people to be careful with their money and not to get into debt by spending too much on their credit cards."
The project, which will initially be piloted in Northampton, Wellingborough and South Northamptonshire, will be open to 600 young and older volunteers in the county and aims to establish an inter-generational volunteering workforce.
Isaac Mitchell, aged 12, a Roade School Sports College pupil who has agreed to be a volunteer, said: "I have got a grandmother who does not know how to use a computer so I don't find it amazing that older people cannot use the internet."
Councillor Andre Gonzalez de Savage (Con, East Hunsbury), county council cabinet member for customers and communities, said the scheme would see hundreds of volunteers, both young and older, trained up to share their knowledge and experience with people from a different generation.
He said: "Not only will this project see the different age-groups interacting with each other more successfully, it will also broaden their skills and increase the roles they play in their local communities.
"I also hope that the School of Life scheme will go some way towards breaking the stereotypes that exist for both young people and older people as well as giving both groups a better understanding of each other."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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