Rock-a-thon Raises Money for Scholarships


The Neighbors Growing Together Rock-a-thon was held in the atrium of Wallace Hall on Tuesday, April 22, to help raise money for student and program scholarships. 



Neighbors Growing Together is part of Virginia Tech’s Intergenerational Program, which is a cooperation between the Adult Day Services program and the Child Development Center for Learning and Research in the Department of Human Development. 



Rocking chairs were provided for participants of all ages and individuals rocked back in forth for the time allotted by their sponsors. 



“The adults came out, the kids came out earlier, its kind of a chance for everyone to get to see each other,” said Julie Leventhal, a first year Ph.D.
student at Virginia Tech. “We do intergenerational stuff, so the kids and the adults get together anyways but now its just nice to see them outside of that situation.”

Food and entertainment was also provided for the rockers, including a performance by Virginia Tech’s all female acappella group, the Sensations. 



According to the Neighbors Growing Together website, the primary mission of this organization is “to improve the lives of people across the lifespan through intergenerational collaboration involving teaching, research, and outreach.”


Pre-school students and senior citizens are brought together three days a week to engage in mutually beneficial activities coordinated by faculty study groups. 



From painting pictures to going on nature walks, the Intergenerational program stresses the importance of the “young and the young-at-heart” working together to promote a shared sense of community. 



“Our older adults, many of them are disabled in some way and they come to the center for supervision, for health reasons, and socialization,” said Ila
Schepisa, one of several coordinators for the Rock-a-thon. “We are able to help them reassume the roles that they had in the past as mentors to children, grandparents, that kind of thing.”


Money raised by the Rock-a-thon is put into scholarships for the children of the
CDCLR, members of the ADS program, and for Virginia Tech students eager to participate in the Intergenerational Program. 


So far $2,500 has been donated to this cause, however, that’s still only half of what the event coordinators hoped to raise. If you would like to make a contribution, donations will be accepted until late next week. Please make all checks out to Virginia Tech Adult Day Services and stop by or mail it to 102
Wallace Hall (0416), Blacksburg, VA 24060. 



To learn more about Neighbors Growing Together and how you can get involved visit their official website.