Ms Jirglová, could you briefly introduce the Mezi Námi (Between Us) project?

Mezi Námi is a non-profit company whose mission is to interconnect generations. The goal is for them to get to know each other, pass on energy, joy and knowledge and gain mutual respect.

What is the story that led you here and how long have you been operating as a non-profit?

The idea came from our children, when their kindergarten teacher organized an event with a retirement home. We were sorry that such activities would not happen again, which led to a meeting of a few interested people and thus the organization was established. Last
year, we celebrated its 7th birthday.

After the first meetings within the Povídej (Talk) program in 2015, the Přečti (Read) program was added. Our seniors started visiting children in kindergartens and primary schools and reading fairytales for them and gradually created a fairytale grandmas and grandpas club.

Are there any specific conditions for seniors to participate in the Přečti program?

Our seniors should be enthusiastic and have a good relationship with children. For most of them, this is their first experience with volunteering and they need to be appreciated and supported.

It goes without saying that there are conditions of medical fitness and criminal integrity. In addition, everyone must pass our Reading Techniques course guaranteeing the quality of the program. The most important thing, however, is their belief and desire to do something useful for the society. Enjoying the fact that children are looking forward to seeing them and being someone special to them - a fairytale grandma or grandpa.

Do you organize any other activities besides Přečti? Could you tell us more about them?

In Mezi Námi, we try to connect generations in several programs. As part of the Povídej program, children from kindergartens or primary schools regularly meet grandmas and grandpas from retirement homes and clubs for the elderly throughout the Czech Republic. Together they
participate in regular meetings, which have a varied content of activities (together they craft, sing, dance, play sports, etc.). The meeting also includes storytelling, sharing experiences and celebrations of various holidays. We have already managed to connect 160 intergenerational groups throughout the Czech Republic.

The Help (Pomáhej) program was established in 2019 and its goal is to reward seniors who wish to be useful in kindergartens and schools beyond the scope of reading or creating together. They can become a
helping force or staff in kindergartens where they otherwise act as volunteers.

The Education (Vzdělávání) program - its goal is to help everyone who wants to participate in intergenerational activities not only in the Czech Republic. As a part of European cooperation, we offer an educational program for coaches to prepare and lead intergenerational activities. We also regularly organize conferences dedicated to intergenerational activities and best practices sharing. We offer a seminar accredited by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports to teachers who want to participate in intergenerational activities. Additionally, we organize seminars, workshops for our reading seniors and they also have the
opportunity to use personal therapy.

Intergenerational workshops are another type of our events. Children passing by can stop by our fairytale tent to craft a little with our seniors at various cultural or community events in the cities and see what an intergenerational meeting looks like.

Is there any aspect of your initiative you did not expect at the beginning that pleasantly surprised you?

We are still pleasantly surprised by the great interest of other organizations in embarking on intergenerational activities.

I always admire the commitment and amazing energy of all those involved in the programs - my colleagues, volunteers from the ranks of teachers and activation staff of senior facilities and reading seniors. It feels amazing that the atmosphere we manage to set at the individual events of the program inspires their participants to further activities.

Suppose I am a kindergarten principal and interested in Mezi Námi - what steps do I need to take for the children in my kindergarten to have their own fairytale grandma / grandpa?

The only thing you need to do is pick up your phone and call Mezi Námi, or send an email. :-) The Přečti program coordinator will provide all the information. They will then start the process of finding a reading senior, contractual sponsorship with your organization, introduction of a fairytale grandma or grandpa, the first reading, and establishing it a regular activity.

And now the other way around - what if I want to involve seniors from a retirement home where I work as a director, for example?

In both cases, the easiest way is to contact us. If it's for the Povídej program, we can create an intergenerational group together and involve all the seniors from a retirement home at once. If one of your clients wishes to read, that’s great, too. We shall find a nearby kindergarten and discuss the logistics.

Is there a way to support your organization?

There are several ways, from promotion and sharing of ideas of intergenerational activities, involvement as a voluntary group coordinator, becoming a reading senior or with a material or financial gift that helps keep the whole organization running and expanding our
programs throughout the Czech Republic.

What has been the most difficult part of developing the project? What were the biggest obstacles you encountered?

I am happy to say that we have been doing quite well so far. Step by step, we are building something we can be proud of. The biggest obstacle was probably the fact that our programs evolved into a nationwide organization and it was necessary to set up a firm structure
in the organization after the initial enthusiasm and sharing all the tasks
within a small team. The great prosperity forced us to divide our powers and ensure that everything runs as it should, since there are now 160 intergenerational groups in the Czech Republic and together we take care of more than 150 reading seniors. We are still growing and trying to spread the message that representatives of all generations, even the oldest ones, still have a lot to pass on to others.

Is there a story you like to remember from your history with Mezi Námi?

Experiences and smiling or touching moments appear at every meeting. I like the seniors' conversations with kids, such as when a little boy boasted to his fairy grandma that he had lost a tooth and she smiled and said that the day before yesterday she lost one too. :-)

Or the time our reading grandma proudly boasted that her children had told her she didn't even look like a grandmother. She was excited as no one had flattered her like this for a long time. I am also happy for the story of our reading grandpa who had found himself caught in serious life problems and homelessness. Thanks to his regular attendance at the kindergarten, he discovered meaning in his life. There are a lot of stories and I am glad that every day, thanks to our intergenerational meetings, more and more are being experienced.

What was establishing Přečti program in Brno like and how is it doing today?

Two years ago, thanks to a financial gift from the Purple Foundation, we managed to successfully establish the Club of Fairytale Reading Grandmas and Grandpas in Brno and introduce the first senior volunteers to the participating kindergartens. After a great start and
involvement of the first 13 volunteers came the pandemic period. Despite difficult times, we managed to keep the existing volunteers and involve some of them in an online version of the program. We recorded Video Tales for the children which you can find on our Mezi Námi YouTube channel. More and more seniors are ready to participate and the only thing we are now waiting for is the final lifting of COVID-19 measures in kindergartens. We are also working to involve more kindergartens and believe that our program coordinator and the newly established cooperation with the volunteer center of Masaryk University will successfully enhance what has been built so far and the Brno Club will continue to grow.

How did your organization deal with the pandemic? Were there any struggles to overcome?

It was all new to us. We were constantly adapting and looking for new ways of intergenerational connection. In the spring, during the first wave of the pandemic, we prepared a Pohádka pro radost (Fairytale for joy) project as a reaction to the complete isolation of seniors in retirement homes. The children painted pictures that we printed out and delivered to all clients of senior facilities (15,000 seniors). The Czech Television also joined the project with their UčíTelka program. In the months afterwards, the Radost na dálku (Long-distance joy) program was running. The children sent crafted products and gifts to seniors through the coordinator, in order to maintain the established relationships, and we also supported virtual activities. We sang with the children under the windows of retirement homes, painted on the sidewalks, or built snowmen in the winter. Every month, we prepared a monthly fairytale intergenerational activity called "Activity of the Month" with the possibility of participating in a Fairytale Competition. And thus, seniors were crafting in their homes, children in their kindergartens and exchanged and sent their works of art to each other through our coordinators. We also met during our online meetings via video conferencing, and kindergartens and homes filmed some video greetings. We showed the world that where there is a will, there is a way. I like the motto of one of the participating kindergartens - "distance is not the enemy of a friendship" – it shows that the intergenerational friendship of children and seniors built in the programs, on the contrary, became stronger during the challenging times. For now, however, we cannot wait to meet in person again!