On 2 November 2024, RC4 residents, students from Queenstown Secondary School (QTSS), and seniors from FaithActs Active Ageing Centre participated in the RC4 Fun & Food Day (FF Day), an event fostering intergenerational bonding. FF Day is a senior retention project organised by four Year 3 students – Cavan Teo (Data Science and Analytics), Jamie Toh (Computer Science), Kwoh Jin Yuan (Computer Science), Tan Gian Sen (Computer Science), who were inspired by their experiences taking Dr Lynette Tan’s Senior Seminar (SS) class UTC2732/UTS2717 - Rethinking Ageing: Potential for Integration. Under the Senior Retention scheme in RC4, students can take up a wide range of projects, with some of them having a community engagement aspect like FF Day!

When asked about how the project began, Cavan shared, "Through Prof Lynette’s SS class, I learnt a lot about the nuances and differences between service learning and volunteering. I also had a huge mindset shift regarding intergenerational bonding — I now see it as something very feasible and necessary given the rapidly ageing population in Singapore. For our SS project, we decided to pitch ‘FF Day’ to all participants. This idea was co-created by both our group’s elder and youth participants, with consideration of everyone’s needs, fostering flexibility and encouraging mutual learning. I truly believed in service learning as well as the feasibility of executing our project idea, and thus I gathered like-minded group members to further enhance our plan and make this vision a reality!”

FF Day, an intergenerational activity, comprised of two aspects – Fun and Food. Youths and seniors first played games commonly enjoyed by people of their respective age groups (Fun), then enjoyed a hearty meal at the hawker centre (Food). The day started off with an icebreaker session facilitated by RC4 residents, where seniors and youths in groups got to know one another better! Through the conversations, senior and youth participants found their common interests in aspects such as sports and music.

Thereafter, for the Fun aspect, the groups had time for co-creation - to explore and propose activities to maximise inclusiveness and facilitate the formation of deeper connections. While some groups chose to play tabletop games such as Rummikub, others tried sports with modified rules such as table tennis and basketball.

All focused on the game of Rummikub!

Keeping active with a game of table tennis!

For the Food segment, the participants went to Margaret Drive Hawker Centre or ABC Brickworks Market & Food Centre to enjoy their scrumptious lunch, while continuing their meaningful conversations.

All smiles for a yummy meal!

After lunch, the RC4 participants bid farewell to the seniors as they made their way back to the AACs, and the QTSS students who went home.

Last group picture before bidding farewell.

Leong Jun Kai, a Year 3 student pursuing Geography, was one of the RC4 participants in FF Day. He was delighted to reunite with Auntie Helen, whom he made friends with over the previous semester, when taking Dr Tan’s Senior Seminar class. Reflecting on his FF Day experience, he said, “It was so nice to have the opportunity to reunite with Auntie Helen! It was so heartwarming to see the seniors and youths enthusiastically interacting with one another, willing to listen and learn from one another.”

Jun Kai (first from left) with Auntie Helen (second from left).

Cori Ee (third from right in photo), a Secondary 2 student from QTSS, felt that the experience was eye opening, “This is a new way to bond with the seniors through shared activities!” Her classmate, Rayner Tan (second from right in photo), echoed her sentiments, “This event gave us a wider understanding of our generation and the seniors’ generation needs. Through the activities, we were bonded!”

In conclusion, FF Day was a meaningful experience bringing together three generations of people, allowing participants to learn more about one another and make fond memories. By coming together for service learning, participants cultivated a sense of ownership, with many encouraged to make an active contribution towards intergenerational bonding.