Elderly people help us to see human affairs with greater wisdom, because life's vicissitudes have brought them knowledge and maturity. They are the guardians of our collective memory, and thus the privileged interpreters of that body of ideals and common values which support and guide life in society. To exclude the elderly is in a sense to deny the past, in which the present is firmly rooted. Precisely because of their mature experience, the elderly are able to offer young people precious advice and guidance.

However, because of the burden of their years, many of our elderly face abandonment, mistreatment, and loneliness. The Linder Initiative promotes an attitude of acceptance and appreciation of the elderly. As an extension of our IHSM programs, volunteer participants will spend a portion of their work day offering conversation, companionship, and caregiving to the local elderly community. Special emphasis is directed toward those elderly persons living unaided. The Linder Initiative invites our young volunteers to embrace the elderly by entering into their lives while abroad, with the hope of fostering a deeper personal understanding of this phase of life. Once returned home, we encourage our young volunteers to develop closer, long-term relationships with older persons, remembering that at every stage of life each of us has the ability to give and gain wisdom, compassion, understanding and friendship.

Older people can enrich our lives much more than we ever imagined!