‘Bringing Generations Together’ builds connections and social good for UND students and residents – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS – On a recent sunny afternoon in north Grand Forks, Clara Wysocki watched from a short distance as two UND students helped her prepare her home for winter by moving patio furniture and other outdoor furnishings into a shed in the backyard. move.

“Where do you want these to go, Clara?” Brooke Kolstoe said, holding up two artificial pine trees with square wooden bases.

“Put them on the left side, near the wall,” Wysocki instructed.

Kolstoe and Grace Taiwo are part of the volunteer initiative that aims to connect UND students with older residents in the University Park neighborhoods to help them with projects and household chores while building community connections.

Through the Bringing the Generations Together project, these and other students help residents with chores that have become more difficult (or even impossible) to do themselves.

Earlier that afternoon, Kolstoe reset the time on two wall clocks to comply with the daylight saving time change.

“They are hard to reach,” said Wysocki, who is participating in the project for the first time.

The project, launched in fall 2023, concludes a semester in which about 25 students are paired with eight residents, said Shaylee Miller, project coordinator. About half of the students and all but one of the residents participated in the project this past semester.

Over the three semesters of this project, students helped residents rake, winterize yards, paint rooms, compile neighborhood histories, prepare meals, organize pantries and closets, and more. For some residents, this provides a financial benefit that saves them from having to hire help, Miller said.

“In addition to the work they do, the groups also find time to share stories, ideas and humor, creating a meaningful experience all around,” she said.

The residents love it, Miller said. “They have a lot of nice conversations with (the students); they share their community history. They get tasks done that they can no longer do themselves – (some) no longer have family nearby. And it builds that community connection. …

“When they don’t have tasks, they drink coffee and play cards,” Miller said. The camaraderie increases ‘social well-being’.

The current groups will conclude their time together with a public celebration on Saturday, November 9 from noon to 2:00 pm at the Riverside Park Warming House. There will be a chili contest, potluck and silent auction. Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to continue the project in 2025.

Everyone is invited and welcome to attend, Miller said.

For Wysocki, the Bringing Generations Together project means more than just doing some household chores. It is an opportunity to get to know today’s students, learn about their lives and their dreams for the future.

“They’re great,” Wysocki said of Kolstoe and Taiwo. “They make you feel younger.”

When the students are around, “I like hearing things – what they are talking about,” she said. “You learn things. I like to learn.”

Wysocki heard about the project from her daughter, who noticed it online, she said. As she has gotten older, some chores have become more difficult, Wysocki said. Her husband Cyril – better known as “Cy” – died in 1997.

After his death, “I made them myself,” she said. “I even mowed the lawn until three years ago.” She also has snow removal contracts.

After joining the Bringing Generations Together project, a number of other tasks were completed by the students.

Last month, Kolstoe and Taiwo pruned the plants, cleared the grass from the flower beds and cleared a path in her backyard that covered with berries and picked tomatoes. They raked her yard and put up all her Halloween decorations. “She’s a big Halloween person,” Kolstoe said.

Project coordinator Miller sees the Bringing Generations Together project as a way to connect people of different ages “in a way they may not have had an opportunity to do before,” she said. “(It’s) a great community building initiative that can help break down the silos between students and established residents in the area.

“I hope these new connections will inspire others to form and promote a strong sense of community and connection for all ages.”

That was true for Joelle Fettig, a UND public health student who participated in the project last spring and this fall. She has “built a real bond” with Karen Verke, she said.

Fettig helped Verke with household chores, such as vacuuming, dusting, rearranging furniture and moving items to and from the basement, she said. “It’s not easy for her to go up and down the stairs.”

“We go shopping together,” says Fettig, house director at a nearby student association. “I’m just a phone call away.”

Van Verke taught Fettig about managing a home and owning one’s own home, she said. She also learned about Verke’s life. “She raised her children in this house.”

“(The project) has given me the opportunity to expand my connections and see life from new perspectives,” Fettig said. “I initially joined the program to become more involved in the community. This program isn’t just about helping others – it’s about building real connections that enrich our lives.”

In Verke: “Sure, I made a new friend,” said Fettig. “And it’s not just Karen. It’s also the other students. The three of us are going (to Verke’s house).”

Fettig has built friendships with other students, including one of a different ethnicity, whom she would not have met without this project.

Brooke Kolstoe said she enjoyed the aspects of participating in the Bringing Generations Together project, “especially with Clara, and being outside; she has so many projects to do.

“I learned a lot from her,” Kolstoe said. “She talks about life with her husband and before the flood (of ’97). It’s interesting to hear the stories.

“She actually talks about the flood quite often. How differently things have changed since then.”

Kolstoe also shares her own story with Wysocki, she said.

“She enjoys hearing how different my life is compared to when she was raising her children – especially in terms of technology and education.” Kolstoe has worked in nursing homes for two years in the past and “really enjoyed it,” she said. The UND sophomore from Glenwood, Minnesota, plans to pursue a degree in physical therapy.

Grace Taiwo, who is pursuing a doctorate in energy engineering at UND, has three children, ages 17, 14 and 11. She is originally from Nigeria and came to the U.S. in 2021 for a college education.

“I have always loved volunteering,” says Taiwo. She teaches flute and recorder and has volunteered for the Hope Church event “Night to Shine.”

“It’s my way of giving back to the society that has given me so much,” she said.

From Wysocki, Taiwo learned a lot about the University Park and its history.

“She talks about what this place used to be like compared to now,” Taiwo said. “These are good things to know.”

It’s satisfying to help someone like Wysocki, she said. “Having people around you is very important.”

Bringing Generations Together was launched in 2023 by a group of UND students in the master’s program in Public Administration. In community conversations, they found a common theme: that “siloing” was happening among local residents, Miller said, “even though they were living next to each other.”

The project matches UND students with residents over the age of 50 in the University Park neighborhoods. Students volunteer for a semester. Approximately 10 residents work with students each semester.

The project was initially funded for the first two semesters by a Community Challenge Grant from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Miller said. This semester it is funded through UPN general funds. The project is also supported by the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Region and the UND Graduate School.

The University Park Neighborhoods are bounded by Columbia Road and Washington Street and, from north to south, from Gateway Drive to Dyke Avenue, said Miller, who is working on a master’s degree in public administration at UND.

But the UPN association isn’t limiting its activities entirely to that area, she said, and is “really trying to come together” with other organizations on the north side to promote the entire north end.

Miller, who conducted pre- and post-surveys to measure the impact of the project, found that residents “have self-reported feeling more connected and comfortable participating in the project.”

And ultimately, by fostering that sense of community, she said, “neighborhoods where neighbors know each other are safer neighborhoods.”