March 19, 2024 —Kendal’s commitment to community engagement is manifested in its robust partnerships with colleges and universities, supporting intergenerational connections across the System. These collaborations have allowed older and younger individuals to interact meaningfully, allowing for shared experiences and knowledge.
Internship and residency programs are paving the way for students exploring careers in gerontology, art therapy, information technology, and other avenues, offering them invaluable hands-on field experience. Residents, in turn, delight in engaging with these young minds and cherish helping in their growth and development. In many ways, Kendal is creating meaningful connections spanning multiple generations.
Internships and Scholarships at Kendal Communities
Kendal at Lexington in Lexington, Virginia, welcomes interns from local universities such as Washington and Lee University and Virginia Military Institute and James Madison University and Longwood University from a bit further away. One intern, Abigail, recently completed a summer internship in the Borden Center, Kendal at Lexington’s skilled nursing and health care center. Abigail contributed her skills in recreational therapy to plan a calendar of meaningful activities and assist staff with admission care development. Another student, Alex, completed an internship with the information technology department, helping with tasks such as troubleshooting connectivity issues to assisting residents with passwords and logins. Both students shared that they were grateful for the opportunity to interact with residents and put their classroom skills into practice.
Kendal on Hudson, located in Sleepy Hollow, New York, has also benefited deeply from university partnerships and internships on their campus. Nursing students from Pace University learn from the clinical and gerontology experience of Sharon Wexler, Department Chairperson at Pace University’s College of Health Professionals and board member of Kendal on Hudson. Recently, Sharon acted as a clinical instructor for nursing students, providing them with the interactive experiences they desire and need to advance their educational careers.
In some circumstances, students live on campus, becoming even further absorbed in the everyday lives of residents. Collington, a Kendal community outside Washington D.C., hosts two University of Maryland School of Music (SOM) students as Artists in Residence. As part of the partnership, graduate students, like Melissa and Ria, performed regularly scheduled concerts, taught educational programs, and collaborated with residents. For the students, who find joy in sharing their musical talents, the opportunity allowed them to find the right “rhythm” and enrich the residents and themselves in the process.
Kendal at Ithaca, located in Ithaca, New York, provides scholarship opportunities to students pursuing careers in gerontology. The yearly scholarship was established by an anonymous Cornell alumnus living at Kendal at Ithaca, who built a career in the corporate world after graduating from Cornell in the 1940s. The donor’s goal was to create a lasting link between Kendal at Ithaca and Cornell so that “more students have a chance to learn about the colorful, interesting lives and careers of retirees, and more residents have an opportunity to better understand students of today—their hopes, thoughts and dreams.”
Volunteer Programs and Initiatives
The Brain Exercise Initiative has over 80 chapters of university-student volunteers working with residents in hundreds of senior communities worldwide, including Washington and Lee University, which also partners with Kendal at Lexington. Neuroscience and pre-med students visit the Borden Center at Kendal at Lexington weekly to work with residents. In addition, Kendal at Lexington recently partnered with Washington and Lee students through Arts Open Minds. The program results from a grant applied for and awarded to Kendal through LeadingAge, a national community of non-profit aging services providers. Through the program, students partnered with residents over several weeks on various pieces of abstract art. At the conclusion, residents showed their work to family and friends in an open art show.
Moreover, at Kendal at Oberlin in Oberlin, Ohio, students are regularly integrated into the campus through various projects and initiatives. Through the Bonner Center at Oberlin College, groups of students complete one-time tasks such as cleaning wheelchairs in the Stephen’s Care Center and lending a hand with landscape and garden projects on the campus, including in the John Bartram Arboretum. Additionally, individual students have engaged in music therapy and music programming on campus. Some Oberlin College students even have an opportunity to live at the residence. Each semester, the Pleasant Street duplex offers room and board for up to four students who dedicate 20 hours per week of volunteer service.
Partnerships Beyond the Classroom
Kendal’s commitment extends beyond internships, residency programs and student organization partnerships. In 2022, The Kendal Corporation moved its headquarters to the University of Delaware’s STAR (Science, Technology and Advanced Research) Campus in Newark, Delaware. Kendal joins organizations such as the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which fosters learning opportunities for adults 50 years and older, the University of Delaware School of Nursing, the campus health clinic and other departments and organizations dedicated to advanced health and wellness research.
This move responds to the demand for innovative approaches to senior living. Kendal looks ahead to additional partnerships with UD leaders and faculty, including other internship opportunities and partnering students with residents on projects and research. Overall, this move is essential in advancing Kendal’s commitment to nationwide university partnerships.
Part of Everyday Life
Every Kendal affiliate proudly cultivates partnerships and collaborations with colleges and universities in their local community, embracing the boundless potential of intergenerational engagement. Whether you’re a resident, staff member, or board member, the Kendal System offers opportunities to connect with multiple generations. Kendal wholeheartedly acknowledges the invaluable wisdom and inspiration that friendships and mentorships spanning generations bring and remains committed to nurturing and expanding these enriching experiences.