Children thrive in the context of positive and healthy relationships. According to research, relationships are one of the strongest predictors of children’s wellbeing (Newland, Lawler, Giger, Roh, & Carr, 2015). Research shows there is a strong positive impact on the academic and social/emotional skills of children with close positive relationships with adults. This program sought to provide the opportunity for participants to work towards developing and supporting those positive relationships. According to Dr. Richard Jeffrey Rhodes, “Story sharing is an effective strategy to promote and expose common connections that lead to positive relationships”. 

The Legacy Hand Casting program was a lesson and activity focused on the importance of legacy and intergenerational relationships. The participants worked together to create a cast of their hands using plaster as they shared stories from their lives. The participants were given questions to encourage the communication of memories and the sharing of wisdom and values. 100% of participants stated that they enjoyed the program. 100% of participants demonstrated understanding of what legacy is and the fact that sharing stories can help shape one’s legacy. Participants stated they enjoyed spending time with each other and the some of the kids stated they loved sticking their hands down in the bucket. Kids talked about how they enjoyed hearing new stories from the adults in their lives and adults enjoyed getting the opportunity to share their stories with the kids. One of the grandmothers stated she “loved spending time with grandkids and loved watching them fix their casting.” One of the kids stated he “enjoyed spending time with my family and doing something fun.” Participants shared some of the funny and cool stories with the group at the end of the activity and many of the kids stated they heard new stories during the activity that they had not heard before. Adults stated they intended to continue to share stories with their children/grandchildren and many stated a new understanding of the importance of legacy and building relationships through story telling. One participant stated that she had not realized the significance of her name until discussing it during the program with her parent when the parent shared the story of how they chose the name.