In a sunny little room in Fullerton, California, something way better than YouTube tutorials is happening this summer, because instead of screens, these teens are learning how to sew on a button from someone’s grandma.
Every Tuesday and Thursday in July, the Golden Connections Club, a student-led group out of Garden Grove, gathers at Olive Community Services for a sweet, hands-on summer camp where seniors teach high school girls the kinds of practical skills that once lived in every household: sewing, ironing, cooking, embroidery, and more.
“I thought it was just going to be cooking,” one camper said. “But I didn’t expect to make a new friend who’s 80.”
It’s called the Intergenerational Summer Camp, and it’s every bit as magical as it sounds.
For Leena Albinali, a rising high school sophomore and the founder of the club, it’s more than just a summer project. It’s a mission to bridge the generational gap and build something meaningful, one crooked seam at a time.
“There’s so much wisdom that lives in our older generation,” Leena says. “We want to learn from them, not just about skills, but about life.”
The camp is a collaboration between the Golden Connections Club and Olive Community Services, which originally launched the program to help keep seniors engaged and active. Many of the elders come from underserved and immigrant communities, and now, they’re also helping empower youth.
One week, teens fold spring rolls in the kitchen with Shameem Syed. Another day, they sit patiently stitching with a new mentor. There’s laughter, sometimes a lopsided pocket or a wonky thread, but nobody minds. Because the real work isn’t in the crafts. It’s in the connection.
As Haqiqa Abdul-Rahim teaches 14-year-old Leena how to sew on a button, it’s clear this camp is stitching together more than fabric, it’s stitching generations.
What started with Leena’s love for her own grandmother has now become a community movement, one that’s passing down traditions, reducing senior loneliness, and turning a group of high schoolers into wiser, more capable young adults.
Some lessons aren’t found in textbooks. They’re passed down hand to hand, story by story, like this.
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