A charity said it intends to build on a pilot project that enabled seniors and schoolchildren to share “memories, interests and humour”.

Age Concern reported on its GrandFriends Pen Pal programme and noted that it plans to expand the scheme across the island.

The project, which was rolled out this year, paired older adults in Dementia Bermuda’s Cognitive Stimulation Therapy programme with students from Saltus Grammar School.

Through guided prompts, the letter exchanges developed from introductions to swapping stories about childhood, work, pets, school, music, traditions and life on the island.

A total of 17 participants aged between 64 and 89 corresponded with 21 students, aged about 10 and 11.

Age Concern said the pilot, which received funding from the Centennial Bermuda Foundation, was “intentionally dementia-supportive”.

It said it was not a clinical intervention and did not measure disease progression.

“Its value was social and relational: it created structured opportunities for communication, reminiscence, purposeful participation and positive emotion,” the charity said.

The cohort came together in person at a celebration on June 22 at Peace Lutheran Church.

Joel Madeiros’s letters to student Wyatt Moore were said to have provided the boy with a window into the senior’s life, one which was shaped by farming, fishing, pets, faith and work before personal devices.

Mr Moore noted Mr Madeiros’s fishing experiences during their correspondence, which Age Concern said demonstrated that the “exchange created learning rooted in one person’s life story”.

The charity said that Leslie Stowe particularly enjoyed writing letters to his “grandfriend” pen pal, Bradford Laing.

Age Concern said their partnership represented “a lovely example of how shared interests and simple exchanges can create meaningful connections across generations”.

Brenda Simons’s caregiver said that because the senior has no children or grandchildren, the programme gave her “a relationship on a different level”.

She looked forward to receiving letters and especially meeting her pal, Sylvie Oosthuizen.

The charity said the programme offered a timely tale for World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, marked each September.

Mercedes Pringle-DeSilva, the executive director of Age Concern Bermuda, said the charity intends to build on the experience.

“GrandFriends began with a simple idea — that a letter could give two people from different generations a reason to listen, remember and look forward to hearing from one another,” she said.

“In this first cohort, we saw older adults living with dementia share their stories and young people respond with real curiosity and care.

“We now want to build on that experience — continuing dementia-supportive cohorts while opening the model to more schools, senior clubs and socially isolated older adults across Bermuda.”

Erica Fulton, the executive director of Dementia Bermuda, said the programme enabled the seniors to share their experiences with the young people.

She added: “What made GrandFriends so meaningful was that it gave people living with dementia an opportunity not simply to take part in an activity, but to share their experiences, interests and personalities with a younger generation.

“Our team supported the participants throughout the letter-writing process, and it was wonderful to see the anticipation build as the letters were exchanged and the relationships developed.

“The morning when everyone finally met showed just how much warmth, curiosity and genuine connection had grown from those conversations.”

Age Concern said that while it plans to expand the programme, it is in need of funds to support the scheme’s co-ordination, materials, safeguarding, transportation and accessibility, participant meetings and evaluation.

• For more information, visitwww.ageconcern.bm