Project Posterity Connects Generations
- Posted on:
- April 1, 2010
The likelihood of an 85-year-old Holocaust survivor becoming friends with an 18-year-old high school senior who immigrated from India may seem remote at first glance, but Project Posterity at Central Queens YM & YWHA is all about bringing older and younger generations together to learn from each other.
Sid Bhatia, who attends the Academy of Public Service at Forest Hills High School, has been meeting with Erica Gorin since January as part of Project Posterity: An Intergenerational Writing Initiative program.
The project pairs a student from the local high school with an older adult at the Central Queens Y, a beneficiary agency of UJA-Federation of New York, to share their life stories. The students each plan to transform what they hear into a memoir they will give to their older adult partner when the program ends this summer.
Gorin, who fled to England as part of the Kindertransport that rescued children from Nazi Germany and later arrived in New York on her own at the age of 15, says, “I wanted to do Project Posterity because I thought it would be interesting to talk to a young person. My daughter died of breast cancer and my other two children are in their 60s and late 50s.”
For Bhatia, it was the first time he talked to a Holocaust survivor. “I like talking with Erica because I like history, and I learned more about the Holocaust. I also have a lot of fun with her.”
And that connection is the goal of Project Posterity.
“We developed this program to foster intergenerational relationships and help reframe preconceived notions about age groups,” says Danielle Ellman, director of the Central Queens Y. “And working with a local high school also helps develop community relations.”
The program has brought together seven teams of students and older adults. Bhatia and Gorin formed a strong bond early on in their weekly meetings.
“I hope Sid’s enjoyed talking with me as much as I’ve enjoyed talking with him,” Gorin says.
Another enthusiastic team participating in the project is Isabelle Lazarus, 16, a junior who plays ice hockey and also attends the Forest Hills High School’s Academy of Public Service program, and Judith Shapiro, 76. Shapiro is a lifelong New Yorker, except for a two-year sojourn in Iran during the 60s and in London from 1989-1992 when her husband’s job brought them abroad.
“It’s not a monologue where I ask questions and Judith answers,” Lazarus says. “It’s a continuous conversation. We’re similar in a lot of ways, our humor is similar, we laugh together.”
Shapiro echoes that sentiment.
“When I met Izzy, it really clicked. Izzy is easy to speak to, she’s supposed to get to know seniors, but I’m getting to know her,” Shapiro notes. “I never had an interest in hockey, let alone ice hockey. Now I’m watching in the paper to see if her team won.”
Shapiro becomes reflective for a moment, then adds, “I thought Project Posterity was a good idea. Even when you have your own children, there’s never enough time to sit and go over things.”