Northwood News ♦ October 2013

A Heroine in Our Very Midst

By Carole Ann Barth

I often joke that the tagline for our community is:  “Whatever you’re interested in, we’ve got someone for that.”  Truly, we have a wealth of residents with interesting skills and many of our neighbors work or volunteer to make the world a better place.  One of my happiest tasks as President of the Montgomery County Civic Federation is the opportunity to recognize such Community Heroes.  Recently, the Federation recognized the staff and volunteers of Intergenerational Bridges, a mentoring program for ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) students in elementary, middle, and high school as Community Heroes.

Many of the students are recent immigrants and the goals of the program are to help students adjust to life in the U.S., to develop students’ English skills, and to boost students’ self-esteem.  Volunteers meet with the same student each week to spend time talking, reading,and playing games in English.  Lesson plans, materials, and on-site supervision are provided by staff from the JCA Heyman Interages Center.

Over the last 25 years, Interages programs have brought together over 30,000 children and older adults in more than 100 schools and 50 senior facilities.  So what does this have to do with Northwood-Four Corners?  Our own Mary Ann Larkin (Cavalier Court) is the Program Coordinator for Intergenerational Bridges.  For more information on the program or to volunteer, go to:  www.jcagw.org/programs/ interages or talk to Mary Ann next time you see her.   ■