About LINK
The Linking Generations in the Northside (LINK) Program offers students and elders opportunities to build reciprocal and abundance-based relationships. Through this program, students learn about and engage with the historically Black Northside, Pine Knolls, and Tin Top communities of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, while elders gain the opportunity to connect with and mentor young people.
LINK is a year-long program coordinated jointly between UNC’s Partnerships in Aging Program (PiAP) and the Jackson Center. The program’s goals are to cultivate multigenerational relationships that integrate an age-embracing and equitable view of elderhood and community development.
LINK Program Specifics
Throughout the school year, LINK students and elders complete a 14-session intergenerational community-building curriculum exploring the histories, experiences, and work of community initiatives focused on aging, housing, and racial justice. Graduate and undergraduate UNC students and Northside neighbors support and learn alongside each other in crucial ways during this process.
LINK students also participate in community engagement initiatives, help coordinate multigenerational porch parties, and serve as event hosts for the spring Northside Festival.
LINK Student Application
- Open to graduate and undergraduate UNC students
- Recruitment takes place in early fall for each school year
- Questions? Contact PiAP Aging Fellow Kendra Oliver-Derry
The 2023-2024 LINK program is underway, but applications are still open! While we can’t guarantee a match with an elder partner right away, students are still welcome to apply for LINK. We’d love to have you join us!
There is something so profoundly beautiful about becoming a part of the fabric of a community so full of love and life.
—Jack Kramer, 2022-2023 LINK student
I am lucky to have been paired with a LINK mentor so passionate about being the driver of change. Ms. Kathy Atwater has helped me understand the gravity of issues in Chapel Hill and shown me concrete methods of addressing these issues.
—Clayton Brockmann, 2022-2023 LINK student