The San Carlos Adult Community Center (ACC) and the San Carlos Youth Advisory Council recently launched Generation Buddies, a program encouraging connection between youth and senior community members.
A Generation Buddies event is held monthly at the San Carlos ACC, and participants engage in various activities, from bingo to pumpkin painting. Anyone between the ages of 10 and 17 can sign up for the event, in addition to any senior member of the ACC.
“It makes me feel really connected to my community,” said Ellora Mehta, a San Carlos Youth Advisory Council member. “The seniors all have unique stories, and it is so fun to get to learn about them.”
Tiko Gupta, a San Carlos Youth Advisory Council member, initially developed the program. The idea to create the program came to him after realizing that many seniors in the community lacked meaningful relationships, especially with the youth.
“My grandparents definitely struggled because they didn’t have anyone to connect with during COVID-19,” Gupta said. “So, we used to go to their house a lot and spend time with them. I thought that we could do something similar in San Carlos and try to create more connection between the youths and seniors of San Carlos.”
Emma Licko, the San Carlos Recreation Coordinator, also played a role in the development of the process. As one of the mentors for the San Carlos Youth Advisory Council, Licko can help bring youth ideas, such as Generation Buddies, to life.
“I think me and all my colleagues were very impressed when Tiko approached us with this idea because it was such a well-drawn-out idea based on something that was so kind-hearted,” Licko said.
The program’s planning took roughly six months, during which various activities were created and made into a reality.
“We started by putting together a list of activities and tied each of them to a month,” Licko said. “From there, the ACC decided what kind of food they wanted to serve depending on the month. We also created goody bags for participants to go home with at the end of each event.”
Generation Buddies aims to create a space for senior and youth members of the community to connect and gain insight from each other. Several program participants, both seniors and youths, expressed how they believed this goal was reached.
“When I first heard about the program, I thought that it sounded great,” said Dennis Nakamura, a member of the San Carlos ACC. “It’s even better in person, and I really enjoyed getting to connect with the youth.”
Cards with open-ended questions are also passed out to all participants, enabling them to spark conversations with each other. These cards encourage them to share personal experiences and stories, creating generational bonds.
“I brought my grandma with me to this month’s activity, and by using the cards, I was able to learn so much more about her childhood and how she grew up,” Mehta said.
Building on the success, the organizers of Generation Buddies are starting to plan further events and activities for the program.
“We are working on several activity ideas for the new year in addition to something I can’t reveal yet,” Licko said.
Generation Buddies will continue to run monthly during the new year as the event coordinators keep improving the program.
“I think we should try to get more of the youth of San Carlos to join, but overall, it is going pretty well and smoothly,” Gupta said.
