The Heyman Interages®Center is a program
of JCA® - Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington.
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THE INTERAGES CONNECTOR
STAYING CONNECTED WHILE STAYING HOME
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Staying in Touch
Hello JCA Interages Volunteers.
May brings Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. This includes those with heritage from; New Zealand, the Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, the Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands, French Polynesia, and Easter Island, among others.
The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution, and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders. To celebrate, this online site provides information about events, poetry, and enrichment activities.
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We have heard from some volunteers that our emails have been going to SPAM or TRASH folders. Please add our emails to your contact list. Please check your SPAM and TRASH email folders for important communications. Our emails are;
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Volunteer Highlight
Maria Pearson
Maria Pearson is originally from Honduras but transferred her college credits to George Mason University in Virginia, from which she received her bachelor’s degree in psychology.
As a teenager, Maria worked for the Marriott Corporation, which paid for her college tuition and instilled in her its professional ideals and standards. She eventually became Personnel Director for the Key Bridge Marriott and went on to work on Equal Employment Affirmative Action matters for the corporation. When her first child was young, she opened a childcare business to spend more time with children.
In her 30s, teaching became Maria’s second profession. She always wanted to be a teacher, even as a child she would line up her cousins for a “lesson.” After Maria earned a master’s degree in education and received her teaching certification from the University of Maryland, she spent 22 years teaching elementary school children. Maria retired in 2015 but continued substitute teaching.
Maria discovered the JCA Heyman Interages Center in 2018, and since then she has volunteered in many programs, including a virtual bilingual reading program at Brown Station Elementary, an in-class mentoring program with seven ESOL students at Gaithersburg Middle School, and one-on-one tutoring of two students in the Interages Thriving Germantown Program. Maria also plans to participate in the Highland Elementary Summer Book Club for fifth-graders and the Montgomery County Public Libraries Summer Grandreaders program for children in kindergarten through the third grade.
Maria is also proud of her own two children - one is a Marine, the other works in theater education. Maria says her father instilled the idea that “Education is important. No one can take it from you.” Thank you, Maria, for sharing your amazing skills with young people.
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Seeking Volunteers for One-on-One Tutoring
"School" during the pandemic barely resembles the school we have all known and experienced for years; academic challenges are many. Many students face obstacles to learning, with changes in where classes are held and how they are presented, as well as how homework is assigned and academic support is provided. Because of this, the need for one-on-one tutoring has never been greater, and there are many one-on-one tutoring opportunities available through Interages. If you are interested in one-on-one tutoring (either virtually or in-person), please contact idingledine@accessjca.org
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Interages this Summer
Highland Elementary School Summer Book Club - Intergenerational Book Club
Experience a book from an intergenerational perspective. “Meet weekly and enjoy a cross-generational discussion of the book, “Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.” This virtual summer book club brings together Interages volunteers and rising 6th grade students of Highland Elementary School. This is a virtual Summer Book Club with Highland Elementary School and brings together volunteers (age 50+) from the Jewish Council for the Aging Heyman Interages® Center and Highland Elementary School students.
This Summer Book Club has several goals,
● to connect all participants to meaningful reading materials;
● to help students maintain literacy skills learned during the school year; and
● to provide opportunities for youth and older adults to connect with a diverse group so that each participant can learn from the other.
*This program requires MCPS Badging.
MCPL Summer Grandreaders
Interages volunteers meet weekly at Gaithersburg Library to provide one-on-one help to students in kindergarten through the third grade as they practice their reading skills. During the regular school year, Interages Grandreaders volunteers work one-on-one with second graders in-person at schools or virtually if necessary.” During the school year: Interages volunteers work with 2nd graders in-person at schools or virtually.
*This program requires a background check run by JCA
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Interages Summer Interviews
Through the intergenerational interview project, students earn Service Learning hours for their time preparing and interviewing. Previous interviews are available on our website, including the very first interview with Interages Founder Austin Heyman. https://accessjca.org/interages/
This is a virtual program at this time. SSL Hours are granted to students. Recordings are presented in the Interages Connector and other sources for public viewing. We are seeking high school students to participate. Please contact Indira Dingledine at idingledine@accessjca.org
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Wonderful Fall Program -
Play with Pre-K Children
Interages Pre-K support volunteers work with children in the Maryvale Elementary School on arts and crafts projects. The volunteers also read books and play educational games with the young learners.
*This program requires MCPS Badging
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A beautiful poem was written by Sariah, a middle schooler that volunteers in the Kensington Club Art & Music Therapy program. - The JCA Heyman Interages Center partners with the Kensington Club, which is an adult daycare program for older adults with dementia. Youth volunteers and older adult volunteers participate in Art and Music Appreciation classes.
Reflection Project: Sariah
“Remember” a poem by Sariah Stephen
I don’t remember.
Where did they go?
The memories?
I can’t seem to…
Remember.
There’s a sound.
What’s that sound?
“What a wonderful world…”
Music.
It’s music.
I’m starting to…
Remember.
We were dancing;
I was dancing.
“I see trees of green,
red roses too.”
Louis Armstrong.
My favorite singer.
I’m happy.
My smile is wide.
I sing along.
“And I think to myself
what a wonderful world.”
Oh?
What’s this?
There’s…
blue.
My favorite color.
And there’s yellow.
It’s bright.
It’s art.
They swirl.
The colors swirl.
I think that I…
Remember.
Starry Night.
Vincent van Gogh.
He made swirls.
And he blended the colors.
Is this what it feels like to…
Remember?
I remember the
Music.
I remember the
Art.
I don’t remember some things.
I know that.
But I remember this.
I remember the smiles.
I remember the laughter.
I remember the songs.
I remember the paintings.
I might forget tomorrow.
But I can remember now.
I know now…
I remember
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Lavender By the Bay on Long Island's North Fork in East Marion blooms with more than 80,000 lavender plants. For more information, see this article in Travel & Leisure.
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“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”
– Napoleon Hill (an American author)
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For your convenience, past issues of the JCA Interages Connector are available on the JCA Interages website.
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Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington
"Jewish Council for the Aging," "JCA," "Helping All Seniors Thrive" and "Interages" are registered trademarks of the Jewish Council for the Aging of Greater Washington, Inc. Visit us at AccessJCA.org.© 2022 Jewish Council for the Aging® All rights reserved.
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