St Vincent’s Aged Care Toowoomba (SVAC) received highly commended recognition in the Community Engagement category at the 2024 Future of Ageing Awards. This award celebrates programs, projects, or services that connect aged care providers with the wider community, fostering social wellness, promoting intergenerational relationships, and easing the transition for individuals entering aged care when needed. Results were unveiled at a presentation dinner in Sydney on August 29…To view all of the winners…
In early 2023, St Vincent’s Toowoomba Facility Manager Elzette Lategan envisioned a new initiative to connect elderly residents with the younger generation. Through conversations with a Toowoomba Anglican School (TAS) primary school teacher, she identified a common challenge: many school students, especially those boarding at TAS, lacked regular interaction with older people, as many came from distant or rural communities. Simultaneously, some SVAC residents expressed a desire to engage more with the local community and reconnect with younger generations but faced limitations in mobility and social opportunity.
Recognising this mutual need for social engagement, Elzette saw an opportunity to address it through a structured intergenerational program. Together with TAS, she developed a plan to create meaningful, structured experiences where students and residents could connect, share skills, and foster understanding across age groups. By March 2023, the program was launched with an initial focus on primary students, eventually expanding to secondary school students and engaging them in community service and mentorship.
SVAC’s newly launched “Heartprint” model of care, which emphasises connection, belonging, and purpose, inspired the intergenerational program’s approach. Through various group activities, students were given age-appropriate tasks that built social and practical skills, challenged stereotypes about ageing, and encouraged a positive outlook on aged care. For residents, the interactions provided companionship, joy, and a renewed sense of purpose, while also countering feelings of isolation and reinforcing the vibrant role they could play in their community.
How it works
Elzette collaborated with TAS’s Principal and staff to create a memorandum of understanding, assess risks, and ensure safety compliance for program activities. Planning began in late 2022, with student visits starting in term two of 2023. At first, visits were casual and allowed for organic connections to develop. Activities included “friendship planting,” where students and residents planted and nurtured succulents, exchanging them at term’s end to symbolise their growing bond.
Following this initial phase, the Head of TAS, Simon Lees, proposed expanding the program to involve secondary students as part of the school’s Thrive program. This led to a multi-tier program with regular visits from primary and secondary students, which was planned to involve residents in reading and other learning activities at TAS.
“Excellent community connection.”
2024 Future of Ageing Awards judge
One of the program’s signature events was a MasterChef-style cooking challenge in March 2024, where secondary students paired with residents in small groups to prepare dishes based on recipes they’d planted and grown ingredients for in the preceding term. This interactive event fostered teamwork, problem-solving, and communication, with the SVAC chefs guiding participants to ensure safety and quality. Residents acted as judges, selecting winners based on creativity, teamwork, and presentation, and awarding fun prizes for categories like “Messiest Cook” and “Best Teamwork.”
Primary students were also given opportunities for hands-on learning by running SVAC’s coffee shop for a day, an event that taught skills like customer service, handling money, and teamwork, while residents enjoyed being their “customers.” The success of these initiatives led to repeated events and requests for expansion, with TAS’s kindergarten expressing interest in establishing an adapted program for younger students.
The program is designed to be low-cost, ensuring its long-term sustainability. The MasterChef event was managed within a $500 budget by using garden-grown produce and staple ingredients. The coffee shop takeover was similarly budget-friendly, using SVAC’s daily food budget to support the student-planned menu.
Stakeholder involvement
The program involved a dedicated SVAC team led by Elzette Lategan, with support from Living Support Manager Farzi Healing, Diversional Therapist Rodney Hammond, and Hotel Services Manager Chris Berghofer. Other essential staff included chefs, cooks, and administrative personnel, who helped coordinate and facilitate activities. TAS contributed staff support, including Principal Simon Lees and teachers Lisa Singleton, Tanya Lowein, and Grace Sheerer, who supervised and assisted students during visits.
Evidence of success
Since its launch, the SVAC intergenerational program has had a powerful impact, connecting over 70 residents with students from TAS. This engagement has brought a newfound sense of joy and purpose to residents, as they experience the vitality of young people. The cooking challenge and coffee shop takeover generated high resident and student participation, with both events covered in local media, extending the positive impact beyond SVAC’s walls.
Qualitative feedback from residents and students highlights the program’s success. Residents expressed pride in sharing their skills and connecting with students, and some reported that these interactions reminded them of earlier experiences or careers, reinvigorating their sense of identity. Students benefited from skill-building and gained fresh perspectives on ageing, with some continuing to visit their resident “buddies” on weekends.
In two standout cases, student-resident connections had profound personal significance. One student, who had recently lost a parent, found comfort and mentorship from a resident, with whom he developed a lasting bond that extended beyond the program. Another young student, new to Toowoomba, found a “grandparent figure” in a resident, enhancing her sense of belonging in her new community.
This program has enriched individual lives and set an inspiring example of how to integrate SVCS’s Heartprint philosophy by fostering community, relationships, and joy across generations. With the ongoing expansion to include kindergarten students, the program’s future looks promising, supporting more connections and new shared experiences for all involved.
