My article on help from the older generation on reading skills a couple of weeks ago brought some interesting reactions.

One, which was a little unusual, came from Nicola Auster and Val Garland, of Brighton, Hove and Portslade Age Concern.

A very foolish assumption on my part was to assume Age Concern was entirely the fiefdom of the Third Age and their problems.

But Nicola and Val have opened an interesting door to a side of Age Concern's work about which I knew nothing.

They are responsible for what is known as "intergenerational work" in Brighton and Hove and are only the fourth Age Concern group in England to set up such an initiative. The parent group, Age Concern England, started the Transage Action Group seven years ago after a visit to the United States fired their imagination.

It sprang from a foster grandparent scheme, although Nicola was quick to tell me you don't have to be a grandparent to take part.

The idea is that older people give their time to go into primary schools and help not only with basic skills of literacy and numeracy but also with general life skills such as sewing and cooking.

There was a time when such things were learnt at home from mothers who had learnt from their own mothers. There are still homes where such skills are passed on but, sadly, with so many broken homes or just the pace of life generally, there seems to be less and less time for such things.

Now a whole new generation of older people is finding its skills much in demand. Under the intergenerational scheme locally, there is a pool of some 50 volunteers who go into 17 primary schools and one secondary school and work with young people who need to top up their skills.

They do not always go to the same school or work with the same child each time, though they may find themselves meeting old friends from time to time.

Transage has been taken up by a number of Age Concern branches countrywide. You do not have to be a grandparent to take part but you do need to have patience and a real interest in children.

There is a plus side for the volunteers who acquire a network of young friends, many of whom may not have grandparents of their own. I know from my experience with my Honorary Grandchildren how rewarding that can be. One volunteer said he had learnt as much from the children as the children had learnt from him.

One particular area where help has become very useful is with ethnic minorities who arrived here as non-English speaking refugees. It helps them prepare for mainstream schooling and provides a link between the generations as older immigrants often find foreign language skills difficult to acquire.

It has all the hallmarks of a very imaginative initiative and Brighton and Hove has done well to be at the forefront.

If you are interested in this work, or any other aspects of volunteering, there will be a volunteers' fair on Saturday, June 8, at the Colonnade, Madeira Drive. You can join in with a stall, a demonstration, provide some entertainment or simply go along and take part in the fun.

If you would like free space for your organisation, ring 01273 737888 for information. If you are interested in helping with the intergenerational project talk to Nicola Auster or Val Garland on 01273 570732.

Happy volunteering!