About Us
Our Mission
Sages & Seekers’ mission is to develop empathy, combat social isolation and dissolve age-related segregation within our communities, while meeting the universal and compelling need of both young adults and older adults to make sense of their lives. This is achieved by creating a sense of intergenerational community in our programs, through the art of authentic conversation.
Why connect these generations?
Many of the issues both teens and older adults deal with are mutual in nature, even though they seem miles apart. Both generations are searching for meaning and relevance, fighting feelings of loneliness and “not fitting in”, and facing issues around independence.
Today, mental health among youth is proving to be an increasing challenge, largely attributed to the pandemic and demonstrated by increased rates of youth suicide, substance abuse and depression. However, prior to 2020, there was already evidence that mental health problems in teens were on the rise. The prevalence of major depressive disorder in U.S. adolescents has increased, and suicide rates have also hit a 10-year high among young people ages 10 to 24, from 6.8 per 100,000 people in 2007 to 10.6 per 100,000 in 2017, according to the CDC.
At the same time, a 2018 national survey reported by the American Psychological Association showed that loneliness levels among older adults have reached an all-time high, with nearly half of participants reporting they sometimes or always feel isolated and that they do not have meaningful relationships. Such numbers are alarming because of the physical and mental health risks associated with loneliness. According to a meta-analysis, a lack of social connection heightens health risks as much as smoking 15 cigarettes a day or having alcohol use disorder.
Sages & Seekers addresses these concerns for two generations at once. We provide both students and older adults an alternative to isolation: a sense of purpose and a connection to the larger picture of society and the world. Sages & Seekers also fills a gap in local schools, where teachers and administrators focus on A-G requirements and have little time to promote communication skills and other foundations of social emotional learning.
Our Story
Sages & Seekers was created in 2009, when founder Elly Katz, at that time living in Boston, was inspired to leave her career as a graphic designer to dedicate herself to diminishing ageism. She initiated an afterschool service-learning project at the Noble & Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, and by the following year, four private schools were piloting the program.
In the fall of 2013, the Sages & Seekers program was first presented at the university level, when Brandeis University students were paired with Brandeis Lifelong Learning seniors. By 2014, Sages & Seekers had enrolled more than 1,200 teens and seniors, with many participating two or more times. That same year, Elly moved the Sages & Seekers headquarter to Los Angeles, California. In its new West Coast location, Sages & Seekers began running programs in the USC Gerontology Department. At the same time, program delivery on the East Coast continued, and The Rivers School in the Boston area elected to make Sages & Seekers a mandatory part of their sophomore English curriculum – a requirement that continues to this day, reaching 180 Sages and students every year.
In late 2014, the S&S Manual was produced, which provides a blueprint for any school, library, senior facility, or university that seeks to offer Sages & Seekers in their community. In 2017, the University of Southern California (USC) conducted a professional impact evaluation of our program through funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. This evaluation provided an evidence-based framework and justification for our model that cemented the program as evidence-based.
In 2024, Sages & Seekers was integrated into ONEgeneration, a Los Angeles- based nonprofit that supports and enriches the lives of older adults, children, and families throughout diverse communities.
Today our non-profit reaches across borders virtually, to include participants at public and private facilities from Canada to Colombia, offering multi-cultural and generational connection, to strengthen the bonds of humanity.
Who We Serve
Sages & Seekers has reached over 6000 teens and older adults since its inception. During the 2023-2024 school year, we served nearly 800 students and older adults in our in-person and online programs. Sages & Seekers is based in Los Angeles, but our programs reach teens and older adults in 35 states and 7 countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Argentina and Australia.
Our Sages and Seekers are a diverse group of people representing a variety of races, genders and socio-economic backgrounds. 63% of Seekers identify as BIPOC as do 20% of Sages. Overall, 46% of our participants identify as BIPOC.
Sages and Seekers from 37 different states (+DC) participate in our programs.
Press
Sages & Seekers was featured in this national news story that aired on local television stations throughout the U.S.
National Reporter: Elizabeth Ruiz, E.W. Scripps Company
CBS News Los Angeles presents how
Sages & Seekers bridges the gap
between generations.
Our Team
Our Partners
Resource Partnerships
Are you a Sage looking for something to do when you’re not attending a Sages & Seekers session? Check out the two organizations below.
A Village is a membership organization that connects older adults to the community, programming, and expertise they need to continue living lives of purpose and promise. Click on the logo above to find a Village in your community. Special thanks to Pasadena, Ashby, San Francisco, and Good Neighbors of Park Slope Villages for your support of Sages & Seekers.
We’ve welcomed many incredible Sages from Sage-ing International—a global community dedicated to inspiring conscious aging and meaningful wisdom-sharing. Our partnership is grounded in shared values: honoring the life experience of older adults, fostering meaningful connections, and cultivating purpose, reflection, and community.
About us
Sages & Seekers is a program of ONEgeneration. Sages & Seekers offers intergenerational collaboration between older adults, the Sages, and students, the Seekers. ONEgeneration is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and all donations are tax deductible to the extent of the law.
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