Grow and Play is an eight-week program designed by Jennifer Tucker and Nicole Dawson that pairs seniors averaging 80 years old and children averaging 9 years old to play games together such as Duck Duck Goose, Egg on a Spoon, Sly Fox, Monkey in the Middle and more. The goal is for participants to become more active and to have positive social experiences, where the adults feel a greater sense of wellbeing and purpose by helping the children, and the kids learn more about aging.

“So far what we’re seeing is really positive,” said Dawson, an assistant professor of physical therapy. “We feel if you can enhance the intergenerational bond, you can enhance the community.”

Grow and Play began June 5 and will conclude July 26. Tucker, Dawson and physical-therapy students will analyze data from a week before the program to a week after the program on activity levels, mood and each generation’s perception of the other. Accelerometers are measuring participants’ activity levels, and surveys are measuring changes in moods and perceptions.

“Children may have older adults in their lives with chronic diseases and that influences their [children’s] thoughts on aging,” said Tucker, a physical-therapy lecturer. “They may grow up thinking that’s how aging is for everyone. We’d love to change that perception.”

For Bella Seagraves, 8, Grow and Play has showed her that getting older doesn’t necessarily mean slowing down.

“I’ve had loads of fun with them [the older adult participants],” Bella said. “At first I thought they were going to be slow, but then as soon as I played a game with them they were really fast and really fun.”

Jean Walker, 83, joined the first cohort of Grow and Play because she liked the idea of seniors and children being the subjects of research. Plus, it’s a chance for her to better understand Generation Z.

“I see things differently than the children do, so this is an opportunity for me to find out what the younger people are thinking,” Walker said. “Plus, it gives kids an opportunity to learn what our limitations are and what we did as youngsters.”

Walker played Jacks and Pick-up Sticks as a kid – games the young participants of Grow and Play didn’t know – so she was able to teach them something new.

Fifteen participants up to 90 years old and as young as 6 years old make up the first cohort of Grow and Play that’s being held at Wekiva Presbyterian Church, which was donated for use of the program twice a week. Most of the adult participants are residents of Village on the Green retirement community, which Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s physical-therapy program has partnered with in the past for student clinical affiliations, balance and fall screenings for residents and more. The children participants were recruited by word of mouth, mostly through the church.

A nearly $5,000 grant from the Learning Institute for Elders at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ gave Tucker and Dawson enough funds to get their idea for Grow and Play off the ground.

“There’s definitely potential for this program to grow, and we’d love to see this be something that’s running year-round,” Dawson said. “We hope to eventually be able to give this to other community organizations so they can run it on their own.”

Tucker and Dawson are searching for other grants and community support to expand Grow and Play. They intend to publish results by the end of the year of the first cohort, which could fill a gap that exists in scientific literature on intergenerational connections and physical activity.

To the originators’ knowledge, Grow and Play is the first of its kind.

Several groups around the campus are collecting toys, blankets, gift cards and miscellaneous items to share with others in the community:

The Veterans Academic Resource Center is collecting at the resource center’s lobby (Suite 100 in the CFE Arena) or the first floor of the John C. Hitt Library by 10 a.m. Dec. 15.

The Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ Police Department and the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ Staff Council are collecting toys at a box at the police department through Dec. 13. (The department also is storing items already collected by the Learning Institute for Elders.)

The Recreation and Wellness Center will have a collection box in the main lobby by the administration office through Dec. 12.

The College of Sciences will have a box in the dean’s office through Dec. 12.

From Spring 2012 to Spring 2015 (not including summers), 94.9% of students who participated in POMP improved their Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ Cumulative GPA with an overall retention rate of 96.8%. The program also attained a 42.5% overall success rate in helping students who were on academic probation obtain good standing by the end of the term in which they participated in the program.

Pairing undergraduate students with their peers who have faced difficulties and/or obstacles in the past has proven to be a winning formula, and bi-weekly meetings keep all participants engaged throughout the process. The regular interaction also builds relationships that help foster a support system between the mentors and mentees, which has been critical to the program’s success. POMP inspires confidence to believe that anything is possible, said a mentee, who encouraged others to join the program. The benefits go both ways as mentors gain personal satisfaction and growth from the experience of helping others. One mentor credited POMP for teaching how to listen and learn outside the classroom, in addition to honing skills like patience, understanding and time management.

Each semester, students hear presentations and participate in activities that aid in their personal, professional and academic growth. During the Spring 2015 semester, POMP members assisted with a new Rosen College transfer initiative to engage transfer students early on in the process of transitioning to Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝. They visited classrooms at Valencia College and gave testimonials about their journey and experience, in addition to helping plan and execute the first Rosen College Admitted Student Welcome Event. POMP participants also donated their time to worthy causes like Knight-Thon, Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s largest, student-run philanthropy, organizing Rosen College’s first ever team.

POMP concluded another successful year with the 3rd Annual Mentorship Ceremony on April 9. Students chose the event’s theme, “Taking Flight,” and Katie Worthington, ’05, a Rosen College graduate and current President/CEO of the Winter Haven Chamber of Commerce, was the keynote speaker. Later that evening, senior Brittani James received the Peer Mentor of the Year Award and a $1,000 scholarship, senior Aaron Rozenblat received the Mentee of the Year Award and Jeremy Wilcox, ’07, ’13 was named Alumni Mentor of the Year. Dr. Ian King, a board member for the Learning Institute for Elders (LIFE), was presented a gift and certificate of appreciation for the $500 Competitive Grant that LIFE awarded POMP in Fall 2014. Mr. Don Ratliff, president of the NFL Players Association (NFLPA), was also recognized for his organization’s $4,000 donation.

Visit Rosen College’s website for more information about the . To enroll in the program as a mentor or mentee, please contact Vanessa Cogswell.