For anyone who thinks the generational gap between high school kids and senior citizens is an uncrossable chasm, the Borough of Fair Lawn can offer some bridge-building lessons.
This past spring, as planning was underway for what would be this Bergen County town’s 5th annual “Senior Prom” for older adults, the organizer was approached by several high school students who had volunteered for this event the year before.
“They were excited about signing up for it again and made sure to tell me that they had recruited several friends to join them,” said Lisa MacClements, Fair Lawn’s Age-Friendly Coordinator. “They explained with great enthusiasm what an amazing time they had with our older adults last year and how they enjoyed showing them the popular dances and sharing stories and laughter.”
Hearing that not only “warmed my heart,” MacClements said, but also served as validation for the success of the intergenerational program that has become a signature of Fair Lawn for All Ages, the age-friendly community initiative launched with the support of the mayor and council in 2020.
Fair Lawn’s Student Volunteer Corps, which offers high school students meaningful opportunities to interact with older residents and assist those in need with chores like snow shoveling and leaf raking, is among the many programs strengthened and sustained by the borough’s selection as a New Jersey Age-Friendly Communities Grant recipient.
The grant award came at a critical time, when private foundation funding for the Fair Lawn for All Ages initiative was about to expire. The state funds were used to deepen outreach to isolated older adults in the hope of increasing awareness of crucial aging-in-place resources as well as some of the town’s new and vibrant senior programs, such as its drum circle series and pickleball clinics.
As Bergen County’s 4th largest town by population, Fair Lawn is known for its collection of distinct neighborhoods, many existing as separate communities within the larger community, including Radburn, an unincorporated area in the borough known for being one of the first planned communities in the United States. This unique geography makes it imperative that borough leaders develop multiple communication channels as it tries to reach the most vulnerable among its older adult population. Fair Lawn, located in central Bergen on the border of Passaic County, is also known as a cultural and religious melting pot, with significant Jewish, Russian and Italian populations and more than 50 languages and dialects spoken in the borough.
As part of its enhanced outreach efforts, Fair Lawn for All Ages worked with Fair Lawn Main Street, Inc., the borough’s economic development corporation, to develop eye-catching videos promoting its older adult programs, including this one highlighting its successful 2026 Senior Prom.
In earlier years, leaders of the initiative held focus groups and stakeholder sessions and conducted a survey that was translated into multiple languages in both paper and audio formats and distributed to senior housing complexes, faith-based organizations, and community centers.
Despite the community’s focus on enhancing communications and increasing older residents’ opportunities for civic and social engagement, project leaders know that many older residents are still isolated and lack awareness of needed resources, particularly those with mobility challenges or little or no digital technology skills.
Finding effective ways to communicate with these hard-to-reach populations remains a concern “we continue to chip away at,” MacClements said.
“We are focused on the power of bringing generations together by building awareness and by facilitating meaningful exchanges that support older adults in need.”