Friendship Has No Age

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Local children and older adults are teaming up to prove that friendship has no age. Preschool students from The Little Barnyard Learning Center paid a visit to their friends at Primrose Retirement Communities this morning through a program created by Timeless Wings.

Colleen Romito, founder of Timeless Wings, says the program benefits both age groups.

“Timeless Wings is an intergenerational program that connects the generations through weekly, intentional play-based learning opportunities. And there’s benefits for both the children and the older adults. We call our older adults our Grandfriends; and our Grandfriends come together and they share stories. It reduces social isolation, it helps them feel connected to a younger generation. For the children, it enhances their learning through the stories, the songs, the games, the activities that we do. And it also gives them a different way to think about aging.”

The children carried out random acts of kindness at Primrose for this week’s outing.

“Today, we’re doing random acts of kindness. We’ve been talking about ways that we are kind to others and how that makes people feel; when we’re kind and we’re nice. So, the Community Bank generously helped us put bags together with some chocolate and some goodies. And, the children decorated hearts that we attached to the bags and today they’re delivering them to 90 residents at Primrose.”

Preschool children will continue to spend time with their Grandfriends throughout the year. Timeless Wings is headquartered in Thornville.