It was in 1999, that Professor Norma Raynes created INTERGEN, an intergenerational charity which would bring older & younger people together for their mutual benefit. Her vision was for INTERGEN to make a positive contribution to the development of young people and their local community by bringing together schools and older people to work together in an enduring partnership. 

Back then, as a professor of social care, Norma Raynes was aware that older people, who had retired, weren’t using either their professional skills or their life skills and that all that talent was being lost to themselves and to their local community. At that time and in another role, Norma Raynes was chair of Governors at Sale Grammar School for Girls (as it was then). She heard that the GCSE art students needed models for their portrait drawing……people who had a little time to sit and have their portrait drawn.  Norma immediately thought of the numerous retired older people whom she had recently met in her professional life. Within a short space of time, a partnership was set up, whereby the sitters gave of their time and in return the students were willing to share some of their basic computer skills with the older generation. It seems it worked a treat & it was then that Norma’s entrepreneurial skills came into play. If this could work so well, how else could older and younger people come together for their mutual benefit, on a regular basis?  

And hence INTERGEN was created as a charity, initially working in a Sale cluster with two primary schools and a secondary school……the schools being Worthington Primary, Springfield Primary and Sale Grammar School. Volunteers, over 60 years of age were recruited, alongside one coordinator. This project went well, more schools joined us, which meant more volunteers & a couple more coordinators.

In 2007/8, Norma Raynes moved to London and a new phase of INTERGEN emerged. INTERGEN TRAFFORD was formed continuing as a charity, working within only Trafford schools, whilst Norma Raynes developed INTERGEN nationally as a CIC, a not-for-profit organisation, but with various salaried employees. Both INTERGEN TRAFFORD & INTERGEN with different Boards of Trustees, are developing in their own way, but both organisations are constantly needing to recruit new volunteers and coordinators to ensure a constant, as well as developing number of people within the organisations.

INTERGEN TRAFFORD now welcomes volunteers and coordinators over 50 years of age; encouraging them to join us in making a difference within their local community……and making a difference to their own lives too!