This December, teen alumni and DOROT seniors gathered for a virtual show-and-tell event centered around the upcoming holiday season, planned by the teen Next Generation Council Executive Board.
The Next Generation Council, made up of alumni of DOROT's teen internship programs, is responsible for creating intergenerational events throughout the year and serving as a collective voice for DOROT teens. The Executive Board leads the Council and facilitates ongoing connections between teens and older adults.
In this Zoom call, everyone brought an object that had significance to them, their culture, or their holidays. They were given a chance to share their object’s history in breakout rooms with an intergenerational group of participants and then to later share it with a larger group. This event provided teens and older adults the opportunity to interact and learn from each other’s diverse histories.
The event began with a warm welcome and calming music playing in the background. The members of the Executive Board introduced themselves and the event, and then divided everyone into breakout rooms, where they had a chance to share their object, as well as meaningful memories for them during this season. Everyone then returned to the main room and, if they wanted to, discussed their object with the larger group.
This is the first of several events the Executive Board will be planning this year. They plan to create three other fun and engaging activities for all generations to participate.
"It was so great to have everyone there and for everyone to have a chance to teach their culture and heritage to other people!" Executive Board Member Hailey Seltzer shared.