Bridging Generations: Strengthening Community Connections

At the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center—San Francisco’s oldest Black-led nonprofit – generations come together to share wisdom, challenge stereotypes and build a more connected community. Through the Senior Victory Club and Black Legacy Builders Teen Fellowship Program, seniors and youth engage in meaningful conversations that foster respect, understanding and appreciation. These programs create safe spaces, strengthen bonds and promote a more inclusive future.

By Barbara Wilson and Dynastii Wynn, members of the Booker T. ECO Group

At the Booker T. Washington Community Service Center—San Francisco’s oldest Black-led nonprofit – generations come together to share wisdom, challenge stereotypes and build a more connected community. Through the Senior Victory Club and Black Legacy Builders Teen Fellowship Program, seniors and youth engage in meaningful conversations that foster respect, understanding and appreciation. These programs create safe spaces, strengthen bonds and promote a more inclusive future. 

As a result of their work, Booker T. received an Equity Community Organizing (ECO) Group grant from a funding partnership between The SCAN Foundation,  the California Health Care Foundation and Metta Fund, and with the support, chose to create an intergenerational advocacy group to identify health equity issues in aging—particularly among marginalized communities—and develop strategies to address them. With this support, Booker T. helps seniors continue to age with grace, purpose and connection.

For me, Barbara Wilson, as the Senior Advisory Committee Co-Chair, I find deep purpose in my role at the Center. I help support the daily needs of the older adult program, ensuring support for seniors to age with dignity, respect and joy. The Senior Victory Club offers a welcoming space where seniors can connect, share meals and feel valued. In a city like San Francisco, where attacks on seniors are rising, having a sanctuary where we feel safe, heard and appreciated is essential. The kindness and support we receive from youth is truly heartwarming.

 For over 60 years, I have volunteered with various organizations, always cherishing the opportunity to connect with young people. Booker T.’s programs reaffirm that commitment. One of the most rewarding aspects is the curiosity of younger generations. They ask thoughtful questions like, “What was it like when you were my age?” and teach us in return—like when they explained Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl performance. We share experiences they’ve never known, like phone booths and typewriters. These exchanges keep us engaged with the evolving world and foster meaningful connections between generations.

 Beyond conversation, Booker T.’s programs have strengthened my mental, physical and emotional health. A couple of years ago, I suffered a heart attack, and the support from the center and young people helped me through it. Our care for one another is genuine. Seeing youth show kindness to seniors makes a real difference—it teaches respect and reinforces the importance of treating others with dignity.

 My message to other seniors is simple: You are appreciated, and there is a community for you. It is never too late to find family, both young and old.

Photo Credit: Chloe Jackman Photography

 As a youth leader, I, Dynastii Wynn, have seen firsthand the vital role young people play in intergenerational conversations. Since joining Booker T. in my sophomore year, my experiences have been life changing. Through the Black Legacy Builders Teen Fellowship Program and the ECO Group, Booker T. provides events and discussions that integrate both age groups, making these interactions natural and impactful. These exchanges allow us to educate while being educated. Now, at 18, I understand the importance of youth engaging with older generations—not just to learn from them, but to share our own perspectives.

 Being part of this program has transformed my mindset and strengthened my relationships with elders, including those in my family. It has given me confidence and taught me how to navigate intergenerational spaces. Too often, my peers have lost respect for elders and feel disconnected from them. I believe that if more youth had access to programs like this, it could change their lives.

 Through our work together in the ECO Group, I’ve gained patience, trust in the process and a greater sense of self-worth. The seniors at Booker T. make me feel confident and remind me that I am enough. I’ve become a better communicator and now approach conversations with openness and understanding.

 Understanding our past is crucial to building a better future. As youth, we carry the responsibility of ensuring that future is one of unity and respect. Booker T.’s ECO Group is more than a program—it’s a movement. By sharing experiences and learning from one another, we are building a future that honors the past while embracing the possibilities of tomorrow.

Booker T. Washington Community Service Centeris the Bay Area’s oldest Black-led and serving nonprofit. A beacon of Black joy and self-determination for the last 106 years, the Center has nurtured over five generations of Black San Franciscans in the Fillmore/Western Addition and across the city.

The SCAN Foundation is an independent public charity dedicated to creating a society where older adults can access health and supportive services of their choosing to meet their needs. Our mission is to advance a coordinated and easily navigated system of high-quality services for older adults that preserve dignity and independence.

The California Health Care Foundationis an independent, nonprofit philanthropy that works to improve the health care system so that all Californians have the care they need. We focus especially on making sure the system works for Californians with low incomes and for communities who have traditionally faced the greatest barriers to care.  

Metta Fund is a private foundation dedicated to advancing the health and wellbeing of San Francisco’s growing older adult population. Through grantmaking and community partnerships, Metta Fund prioritizes areas where systemic change is needed to address health inequities. We believe everyone deserves to live a healthy life, at every age. For more information, visit mettafund.org.

Ms. Barbara Wilson has been a fearless organizer and advocate for more than 60 years.  Serving as the longtime board member of the Freedom West Housing Cooperative, she led the push for state-of-the-art improvements for the cooperative and throughout the surrounding area. As a board member of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association, she has helped actualize the thriving, diverse and bustling commercial corridor we see today. Ms. Wilson also shattered glass ceilings, being one of the first Black and African American women to work at UCSF, from the late 1960s to her retirement in the early 2000s. She has been a dedicated volunteer for a myriad of organizations throughout the city and beyond, from the American Heart Association to the African American Art and Cultural Complex to the SF Symphony. As the Senior Advisory Committee co-chair at Booker T. Washington Community Service Center, she supports the daily programmatic needs of the Center’s older adult program, ensuring that seniors can age with utmost dignity, respect and joy. 

Dynastii Wynn is a high school senior who founded her school’s first Black Student Union. Dynastii aspires to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) after graduation, where she plans to pursue a career in psychology and as a professional dancer. She has been an active member of Booker T. Washington Community Service Center’s Black Legacy Builders Teen Fellowship Program for several years, finding a second family among the staff, students, and the broader community.