Bridging the Ages
Every September, National Intergeneration Month asks a simple question: when did you last spend real time with someone decades older or younger than you?
For many Americans, the honest answer is “not recently.” A century ago, grandparents, parents and children often shared a house, a farm or a street. Today, work, housing and daily routines sort people by age. Kids spend their days in schools, working adults in offices, and older adults in retirement communities or alone at home.
The month is a nudge to reverse that drift on purpose. It doesn’t ask for grand gestures. It asks for a conversation, a shared meal, a skill swapped, or a program that puts a 9-year-old and an 80-year-old at the same table.
Where the month came from
Intergeneration Month grew out of a single day. In 2000, the Intergeneration Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Sandy Kraemer, launched Intergeneration Day on the first Sunday of October. Kraemer’s work on intergenerational issues convinced her that people needed a set time each year to deliberately connect across ages (Protocol & Etiquette Worldwide).
The day proved popular enough that organizers expanded it to all of September, starting in the early 2010s, to give schools, libraries and senior communities more room to plan events (Generations Working Together). In the U.S. and Canada, Grandparents Day, the first Sunday after Labor Day, serves as a natural kickoff (UCCS Family Development Center).
The observance has no federal law behind it. Its reach comes from recognition by 43 state governors and a wide network of nonprofits (Elder Care Alliance), plus the libraries, schools and care homes that adopt it each year.
Why it matters
America is lonely, and it is largely sorted by age. Those two problems feed each other, and intergenerational connection is one of the few remedies that addresses both.
The loneliness problem. In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared loneliness and isolation an epidemic. About half of American adults report feeling lonely, with some of the highest rates among young people. Time young people spend with friends has fallen by nearly 70% over roughly two decades. Loneliness is linked to higher risk of heart disease, stroke, dementia and early death (KATU / The National Desk).
The age gap. In a national survey by Generations United and The Eisner Foundation, 53% of adults said that outside their family, few people they regularly spend time with are much older or younger than they are. Young adults aged 18 to 34 were the most cut off, at 61% (CNPEA summary of I Need You, You Need Me).
What people want. The same research found strong appetite for change (Generations United report highlights):
- 93% agree children and youth benefit from relationships with elders, and 91% say elders benefit too.
- 77% wish their community offered more chances for different age groups to meet.
- 78% think the federal government should invest in programs that bring young and old together.
The benefits run both ways. Older adults gain purpose, activity and social ties. Young people gain mentors, perspective and a sense that growing old isn’t something to fear. Both groups tend to shed stereotypes about the other, which is why advocates see these programs as a tool against ageism (Generations, American Society on Aging).
What it looks like in practice
The strongest programs don’t treat one generation as helpers and the other as recipients. They build something both sides need, then let relationships grow from shared routine.
| Model | Example | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Preschool inside a care home | Providence Mount St. Vincent, Seattle | Since 1991, an on-site child-care center has shared the building with residents. About 125 children, from infants to age 5, visit residents’ floors each weekday for reading, music, art and play. |
| Students living with elders | Humanitas Deventer, Netherlands | University students live rent-free in the retirement home. In return, they spend at least 30 hours a month as “good neighbors”: chatting, playing games, watching sports and running errands. |
| Shared public building | Swampscott High School and Senior Center, Massachusetts | Faced with replacing both a century-old senior center and a century-old high school, the town built one building to serve both. |
Smaller versions work too. Older volunteers tutor early readers. Teens run tech-help sessions at the library. Students record oral histories of local elders. Choirs, community gardens and repair cafés mix ages naturally, because the shared task comes first.
How to take part
You don’t need a program or a grant to observe the month. Start with one relationship.
Individuals and families
- Call a grandparent, aunt or older neighbor this week, and ask a question you’ve never asked, like what their first job was.
- Cook a family recipe together and write it down with the story behind it.
- Trade skills: a teenager sets up a phone, and an older relative teaches knitting, car maintenance or card games.
Schools and youth groups
- Invite older adults in as guest speakers, reading buddies or oral-history subjects.
- Pair a class with a nearby senior community for pen-pal letters or a shared art project.
Workplaces
- Set up two-way mentoring, where early-career staff coach on new tools and veterans coach on judgment and networks.
- Mix ages deliberately on project teams and volunteer days.
Communities
- Plan all-ages events at libraries, parks and community centers rather than age-specific ones.
- Ask local leaders to consider shared-site facilities when they replace schools, senior centers or child-care centers.
- Look up organizations like Generations United for program ideas and toolkits.
Beyond September
September ends, but the point of the month is not a 30-day event. It was a reminder that people of different ages have things the other needs: time, energy, patience, new skills and hard-won perspective.
The gap between generations was built by how we design our schools, housing and routines. It can be narrowed the same way, one shared table at a time. Pick one person outside your age group, and make that connection a habit that lasts into October and beyond.
