Sandy Shihadeh (’89) earned an education degree at Cabrini and worked in preschool childcare before starting an organization connecting seniors and children that would benefit the entire community.
“It started from moving my grandmother to an assisted-living facility near her grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Sandy relates.
“They’d play board games and talk daily. All residents would light up when the children came.”
One day, her sister Karen Schaufeld offered an irresistible idea after she attended a conference discussing the remarkable results of young children learning from seniors.
“Karen told me, ‘You could teach children by having seniors read to them. We’ll do it together if we find the right place!’ Loudoun County is the fastest-growing area with the fastest-growing median income in the country, but many residents still can’t afford preschool.”
The ‘right’ place for their project, All Ages Read Together, turned out to be the very facility where their grandmother had lived.
Sandy and Karen offered a pilot program to the local Head Start and waited anxiously the first day to see who would show up.
Four children came ... and four seniors.
Word got out and more came. All Ages Read Together expanded to 12 programs and has been requested in other U.S. cities.
Even with the expansion, however, Sandy and Karen move at the speed they believe is best. And in the process, they are openly sharing their success with others.
“We share all of our ideas freely, making our approach accessible on our website.” Sandy laughs at being considered an entrepreneur.
“We’re just leveling the playing field so the community benefits. At Cabrini, I learned to take something you love and be helpful about it. Gather people who feel the same, put it forward, and hope the community responds.
“We loved children learning and seniors feeling valued, and we put it out to the community so they could happen better together.”
This article was featured in Cabrini Magazine.