Springboard helps to bridge the generation gap through IT

Residents from Springboard’s sheltered housing schemes visited Scott’s Primary School in Hornchurch, Essex, to take part in a digital activity day with the Year Four class and share stories.

This event formed part of London UnITe’s intergenerational programme which aims to link people up from different parts of their community through organisations such as Genesis Community, the charitable arm of Genesis Housing Group.

The residents, from a variety of Springboard schemes – Staples House in Beckton, Perry Lodge in Manor Park and Hayter Court in Wanstead – worked with Genesis Community staff to devise a workshop for the children. Using Microsoft publisher, they showed the children how to create and resize photos to fit into keyrings, picture frames and magnets. Some of the children chose photos from a former zoo trip, while others picked photos taken that morning with their new friends from Springboard, which is part of Genesis Housing Group.

In return, the class of eight- and nine-year-olds showed the older people how to use Windows Movie Maker software, demonstrating the different movies they had made from their adventures at the zoo.

Springboard resident, Chas Cordell, recalled stories of what his childhood was like, while the older group were surprised to see that all the children had laptops.

Chas Cordell, said: “When I was at school we had nothing like this. School was a quiet place. It is lovely to hear the laughter and talk to the children who are clearly getting so much enjoyment from being in this classroom.”

Over 350 of Genesis’ older residents have been trained in IT through London UnITe, a digital inclusion program run in sheltered housing schemes across East London. Many have gone on to use their new skills in a variety of ways, including communicating with their families with Skype, social networking with Facebook, ordering gifts online, and checking the news and weather.

Iain Mackechnie-Jarvis, Head of Genesis Community, says: “It’s great to see younger and older residents coming together at fun and creative learning events like this one. As well as encouraging inter-generational events where older and younger people can share stories and experiences, Genesis Community is also committed to ensuring that older residents are not excluded from digital opportunities and that they can benefit from the benefits provided online. Promoting digital inclusion is one of several areas we can see an immediate improvement in the lives of our customers.”