In 2016 we crossed the pond to bring Sweet Readers to the UK by partnering with Alleyn’s School and Castlebar Care Home, both in South London. We have been so blessed to have brilliant and dedicated teams with both partners and to have formed a bridged diverse community including residents, students, faculty and administrators.

Sweet Readers Experience – Natalie Demain

With a team of Goodwill Ambassadors from Sweet Readers and the Brunswick School in Greenwich, CT, we piloted the program with 6 Form 7 students and trained four Alleyn’s faculty to facilitate.

Sweet Readers Experience – Sarah Burdett

The program has been a wonderful success and has expanded 700%! The adult participants enjoy, on average, 20 hours of engagement per school year. This community, which became self-sustaining within two years, has taught us that regardless of our cultural or geographic differences, we all benefit from creative human engagement, discovering the person behind the masks we all wear and impacting a person’s life for the better.

With special thanks to Sarah Burdett, Nicholas Allan, Brendan Allen, Susan Butler, Natalie Demain, Sue Duffy, Hayden Hoover, Ryan Kahn, Terry O’Connor, Annie Reeve (for beautiful photographs), Andy Skinnard, Megan McDonagh, Daniele Starfield, Erin Withstandley, Alfie, Anna, Bede, Hannah, Mabel, Matthew, Anita, Athena, Joan, John, Lilo and Teresa.  And additional thanks to Philip Bedford for excellent photography!

The Brunswick Sweet Readers program started in 2013 and has expanded to include 57 8th graders each year.

By the end of the current school year, Brunswick Sweet Readers, with help from 7 trained Brunswick faculty serving as SR facilitators, will have participated in a total of 166 program sessions with each Brunswick Boy engaging on average 13 hrs./school year. The Brunswick Sweet Readers program became self-sustaining within three years.

Brunswick boys have lit up the lives of adults struggling with Alzheimer’s in Greenwich, Stamford, Rye, Tarrytown and Briarcliff Manor. Friday afternoons will never be the same, especially for the residents at The Greens at Greenwich as those Brunswick Sweet Readers and their adult partners, transform each other’s lives.

Sweet Readers has become an important part of the school’s culture and Brunswick boys have participated in a number of community events to raise awareness about Alzheimer’s and help fund new communities.

This wonderful community is not only fully engaged with the programs in Westchester and Connecticut, they have been instrumental in expanding Sweet Readers to Europe and helping us develop a scalable training model! Learn more about our London expansion our News section.

With special thanks to Monica Berisso, Sarah Burdett, Anthony Fischetti, Max Kennedy, Kevin Landesman, Ann Paternina, Jim Stephens and Erin Withstandley.

The Chapin Sweet Readers program started in 2013 and every year, with help from five trained faculty who serve as facilitators, their entire 5th grade engages with neighborhood adults who live with Alzheimer’s or some form of dementia.

By the end of the current school year, Chapin Sweet Readers will have participated in a total of 154 program sessions with each Chapin Sweet Reader engaging on average 13 hrs./school year and each adult resident engaging on average, 24 hours/school year. The Chapin Sweet Readers program became self-sustaining within three years.

Since 2015 Chapin Sweet Readers have bridged their community with the residents and dedicated staff at 80th Street Residence, creating art, sharing life experiences and enjoying the time (and snacks) together.

This community has taught us the value of bringing everyone together to optimize and expand the impact. Led by Trude Goodman, Chapin started a culture of bringing different stakeholders – board members, alumni, administrators and staff – to program sessions and allowing them to participate in the warm community surrounding the Sweet Readers and their adult partners.

In addition, Chapin served as host for our first major community event, The Memory Olympics, which in 2014 brought together hundreds of Sweet Readers from five area schools to engage in brain games.

The De La Salle Sweet Readers program started in 2015 and every year, with help from two trained and dedicated faculty who serve as facilitators, twenty 8th graders take the subway up to the Jewish Home to engage with residents living with Alzheimer’s or some form of dementia.

It’s a half an hour commute after a full day of school and yet De La Salle Sweet Readers and their humble, generous and gracious facilitators shine at the nursing home as if it was the start of a brand new day.

“I always witness that the students definitely receive a life-time experience through this program. Their thoughts on volunteer service change from “I make them feel at purpose by helping out” to “I have gained so much knowledge, wisdom and love from working together with the partners.” Soobin L., Facilitator

“The challenge I faced as a Sweet Reader is that I had barely interacted with elders before. Although it was awkward at first, after more experience, I gained more confidence….Sweet Readers has taught me to be more patient and the best thing that happened to me during this program is making a new friend, my adult partner, Joel.” – Sweet Reader Mario

“I have become more confident and outgoing” – Sweet Reader Alyssa

“I can be more caring and it has taught me how to engage in conversations.” – Sweet Reader May

“I will keep in mind that everyone with any disadvantage has a reason behind it, and so to keep my judgements at bay.” – Sweet Reader Lily

“What I am taking away from this experience is not to be afraid to try new things especialy when it comes to helping others.” – Sweet Reader Fiordalise

“The Sweet Readers program was a blessing to have. I can comfort people when they are lonely… I can apply this with my grandmother…I will take away from this experience the love [Ms. Thelma] had shown to me, and I will distribute it to the upcoming generation.” – Sweet Reader Christopher

“It helped me create bonds with older people and helped me learn how to talk with others.” – Sweet Reader Makena

“The best thing that happened to me was when I saw Ms. Carroll happy to see me.” – Sweet Reader Gwendolyn

“Because of the Sweet Readers program, I not only learned how to talk to the elderly, but how to talk to people in general.” – Sweet Reader Alyssa

“By participating in the Sweet Readers program I was able to become more aware of Alzheimer’s and dementia. From this program I was also able to learn to become more confident and open as I worked with new people.” – Sweet Reader Fuod

“Going to Sweet Readers has by far been one of the best experiences I’ve had. I was able to develop many skills that I will use in my everyday li[fe] and in general. I wa able to form a bond with someone I would’ve never thought of. Sweet Readers has helped me and was one learning and fun experience.” – Sweet Reader Dechen

De La Salle Academy is a very special school. To gain admittance there are three requirements: A student must come from a low-income family, have high intellect and be kind. These combined qualities lend themselves especially well to Sweet Readers work and De La Salle Sweet Readers and their adult facilitators have demonstrated tremendous depth of character, empathy, adaptability and creativity. We are so blessed to work with this caring and committed community and to be able to bridge them with the lovely and dedicated staff and residents of the Jewish Home. This community has taught us the value of kindness and humility.

By the end of the current school year, De La Salle Sweet Readers will have participated in a total of 72 program sessions with each De La Salle Sweet Reader engaging on average 19.5 hrs./school year and each adult engaging, on average, 18 hours/school year. The De La Salle Sweet Readers program became self-sustaining within three years.

With special thanks to Brother Brian, Angel Gonzalez, Soobin Lim, Sean McCaughley and Dafna Schmerin.

The Eagle Hill Sweet Readers program started in 2011 and every year, with help from five trained and dedicated faculty who serve as facilitators, Eagle Hill Sweet Readers engage with residents of The Greens at Greenwich, bridging two communities and bringing tremendous joy, purpose and empowerment to everyone involved.

This caring community proves that people with learning differences, like everyone else, regardless of their age or socioeconomics, thrive when they are empowered to impact a life for the better through creative human engagement and community support.

By the end of the current school year, 6 trained Eagle Hill faculty serving as facilitators will have facilitated a total of 120 Sweet Readers sessions with each Eagle Hill Sweet Reader engaging on average 19 hrs./school year.

Special thanks to Patty Cantrell, Ashleigh Carlucci, Megan Colvin, Debra Graves, Dave Kates, Jeff Leonard, Beth Liebowitz, Carolyn Mullins, Maureen Nisch, Carol Puglia, Maria Scaros-Mercado and Chris Sweeney.

The Nightingale Sweet Readers program started in 2013 with two Nightingale Parents, Elizabeth Reede and Allison Niles, serving as facilitators. The initial program was an after-school program with voluntary sign up and the sessions were intimate gatherings in the Nightingale classrooms, Jewish Museum galleries and Jewish Home Library.

In 2015, we expanded the program to include the full 7th grade in partnership with 7th graders at the Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem. In 2016 the program expanded again to include both full 7th grades with all sessions in the Nightingale classrooms. The girls partner with adults who come to our programs from their own homes with a care partner. Together, they have formed a warm, beautifully bridged diverse community where every voice, including those of the dedicated faculty facilitators, is valued and heard.

The dedication of our partners and their teams at Nightingale and The Young Women’s Leadership School of East Harlem (TYWLS) has made it a heartwarming success! Over the past four years, the NBS team, and for the past three years the TYWLS community, have empowered their students to engage in Sweet Readers for a total of 171 sessions, averaging 13 hrs./student/school year with adult participants engaged, on average, 24 hours/school year.  This year, the TYWLS girls are engaging for an average of 26 hours/school year!

With special thanks to Niurka Alvarez, Julia Anderson, Paul Burke, Jenny Cooley, Fiona Donovan, Claire du Nouy, Drew Higginbotham, Nora Lidell, Damaris Maclean, Colleen McGeehan, Allison Niles, Elizabeth Reede, Laura Vega, Roseanne Quinn and Fanny Zhao. 

Our partnership with the Jewish Museum began in 2011, just before the Museum started their own JM Journeys program. Thanks to the dedication of Dara Cohen and her team of facilitators, our after-school Sweet Readers, from a diverse range of schools, have joined together to meaningfully connect with adults from a variety of nursing homes, assisted living centers and from their own homes with care partners for by the end of the current school year, a total of 213 Sweet Readers museum sessions! Average annual adult participant engagement has been 37 hours/school year. Special thanks to Dara Cohen, Sonya Blesosfky and Kirstin Broussard. 

Being a part of the Sweet Readers programme so far has been so immensely rewarding, uplifting and has brought a very different dimension to my working week. As soon as the opportunity was presented to me – to help become a driving force behind this first international movement for the Sweet Readers – I knew that it was worth investing the time and effort to make it happen. And indeed it was. 

We are all affected in some way by old age; whether it is contact with grandparents, neighbours or indeed simply the realisation that we are aging ourselves every day. To enable our young peoples’ eyes to be opened to Alzheimer’s disease and to connect with their elderly partners each week has been astonishing and I am not ashamed to admit that every week I am overcome with emotion watching as the relationships develop. Indeed, on week one of the programme, I was unsure about whether we could do this – a whole host of problems occurred that were difficult to manage and, as secondary teachers, we were very much ‘out of our comfort zone’. Yet I shouldn’t have been worried. As I looked over at one of our young Sweet Readers, Alfie, aged 11, and witnessed him simply put his hand over his elderly partner’s saying ‘it’s ok, I’m so looking forward to getting to know you’ and seeing the calming effect on Anita, aged 85, I thought ‘Wow – I can learn so much from our youngsters’…and this is indeed powerful learning that goes so far beyond a classroom. 

So at Alleyn’s School, London, after a successful week long pilot project which involved us taking six of our youngest pupils out over a series of four days, we decided to invest fully in the project and have now re-designed our timetable to allow an entire class of pupils to participate in Sweet Readers in our first year. We take out 12 pupils at a time, with the remaining 12 staying in school and receiving more personalised teaching in their subjects at school. After six weeks of the project, the children then rotate, to allow every single member of the group to get involved. This inclusivity is also so very important – the young people are not hand-picked and even the shyest, most reluctant pupils have demonstrated an amazing journey and new found confidence through the project. Every week, as we return to school in our mini-bus, our Sweet Readers are literally ‘buzzing’ and wanting to share what they have learned about their elderly partner with our team. Indeed, they look forward to it every Monday and for many it is now the highlight of their week. And to see the elderly people’s faces light up with recognition when their young partner arrives at the care home is simply inspiring.  

So I am incredibly proud to be a part of this amazing initiative and the first British school to take on this work. Not only do I firmly believe that this is an example of life-long learning and these skills will be so very important to our young people throughout their lives, it has also really helped open my own eyes as an adult to identity, to discovering the person behind the disease and has brought a richness to my own working week. I now can’t imagine my job without it. Thank you, Sweet Readers! 

Natalie Demain