Sutherland High School’s Intergenerational Club bridges the gap between local high school-aged students and senior citizens. The club was founded in 2023 by Sutherland student Chloe Cunniffe who first saw the need for more interaction between generations after the isolation she and others experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic. To launch the club, Cunniffe met with the Town of Pittsford’s previous Senior Center Director Dolores DeCoste and the Recreation Director Jessie Hollenbeck to talk about her idea and discuss ways they could bring students and senior citizens together for friendship, food and fun.

“Since Covid-19, loneliness has been an epidemic that has gotten harder to fight,” said Cunniffe. “Studies show that connection is huge when combating it, especially in our two generations. Our lunches/ events are a way to get to know one another and for high school students to learn from the senior citizens’ past experiences,” she explained. 

Cunniffe serves as president of the club with the help of fellow student officers Jordyn Leader and Charlotte Miller as well as their faculty advisor Ms. Baroody-Solomon. Since its start in 2023, the Intergenerational Club has hosted three events in collaboration with the Town of Pittsford, working with current Senior Center Director Jennifer Morrow and her staff. The events take place at the senior center and are typically attended by approximately 25-30 senior citizens and 25 high school students. Cunniffe said she was shocked to see the amount of people who were interested in being a part of the club. While there is a 25-student cap for field trips, she said the number of students who turn in permission slips exceeds that number and those that attend are chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. “It has been such a delightful surprise to see how much people care at Sutherland,” she said.

The Intergenerational Club’s most recent gathering was a Halloween pizza party that included arts and crafts, games, and discussion. Each table had questions to serve as icebreakers that both generations could talk about. A Halloween-themed question asked attendees if they believe in ghosts or the supernatural. Both students and senior citizens talked about the potential for supernatural occurrences and whether or not they had encountered any. Some seniors also shared how Halloween traditions have changed over time.

When asked “what’s one piece of advice you’d give a student,” many senior citizens drew upon their own life experiences and spoke about the need for students to have confidence in themselves so that they can benefit from all the opportunities available to them. They also talked about how important it is for the students to learn to advocate for themselves.

While students enjoy the fun these events provide, the benefits are more far-reaching than that, said Cunniffe. “The greatest gifts students have gained are the friendships and skill to be able to talk to other generations,” said Cunniffe. “Sometimes it's hard for students to interact with adults, and this gives them the chance to work to improve that skill—a skill that is extremely necessary to have in college,” she said.