Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center Builds Relationships Between Teens, Children and Seniors
education, intergenerational center, jane wagner, marshfield, marshfield human services academy charter school, preschoolers, senior adult care, teens, tiny tiger intergenerational center,
After touring an intergenerational center six years ago that combined children’s day care with senior adult care, Jane Wagner knew she’d found the right kind of learning lab for her human-services students.
She also knew that by adding that third component – teaching high school students to care for people of all ages – Marshfield would have a very unique learning and day care center indeed.
“We saw interaction between 4-year-olds and senior adults, and that made us realize there was so much more we could do with our child care center,” says Wagner, career and technical education coordinator for Marshfield School District.
While there are other places that pair senior care and day care for tots, the Marshfield center is the only one in the country with that unique third component of being a training ground for high school students.
The 9,000-square-foot Tiny Tiger Intergenerational Center, which opened in March 2007, is just across from Marshfield Human Services Academy Charter School. It serves 16 adults, 92 children and acts as a learning lab for 33 students. There’s room to grow, too, in all three areas.
The students, Wagner says, are “so excited about being able to have hands-on experiential learning in a facility such as this. They see the value in the relationships between the children and the adults.”
The center, whose services are open to the public, partners with two other nonprofits, a day care center for young children and an adult services program, mostly for seniors. It also has created an endowment to continue involving the community in its fundraising efforts with the Marshfield Area Community Foundation.
It’s not just the students who love the center; everyone benefits. As a social worker for the state of Wisconsin, Sara Riedel had long thought of opening a place that cared for senior citizens and adults with developmental disabilities. When she learned of plans for the intergenerational center, she knew it was the perfect time to jump in. Now, her nonprofit Companion Day Services is one of the two local providers working with the school district.
“We are here to enrich life, making sure everybody has a purpose when they’re here,” she says. “And they feel they have something to contribute to the program. For some, they come because they know they’re going to help take care of the kids. For some, it’s ‘Hey, I can help teach something to the students at the high school.’ Whatever it may be, when they leave at the end of the day they get a thank you. It’s all about giving them a sense of purpose, because as they get older they start to lose that.”
Story by Ellen Margulies
Photo by Wes Aldridge
