Giving Compass' Take:

• Marc Freedman explains how bringing together old and young people is beneficial for everyone.

• How can funders work to bring old and young people together? 

• Read a comprehensive guide to funding in aging. 

Forty years ago, the eminent Cornell University professor and child psychologist Urie Bronfenbrenner famously concluded, “Every child needs at least one adult who is irrationally crazy about him or her.” The benefits of a caring adult mentor on children’s well-being have been reinforced in study after study, as well as reports from youth themselves—including research I was engaged with early in my career.

In the 1980s, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America served 70,000 children in the U.S., but 30,000 more were languishing on the waiting list for an average of 18 months. Our research team was able to take 1,000 kids on the waiting list and randomly assign mentors to half. The other half were promised mentors at the end of 18 months, the period they would have waited anyway. But first, during that year and a half, we compared the young people who had mentors with the young people who didn’t have them.

The contrast was staggering. There was a 46 percent difference in drug use, a 50 percent difference in school truancy, and a 33 percent difference in violent behavior. The conclusion was inescapable: Relationships with adults matter in young people’s lives.

But what do older adults gain from relationships with young people? One powerful answer comes from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, which began tracking more than 700 men in 1938 and continues to this day. Of the study’s findings, one towers above all others: Relationships are the critical ingredient in well-being, particularly as we age.

Read the full article about bringing together old and young people by Marc Freedman at YES! Magazine.