Stories are powerful things. They can give advice, spark the imagination or simply entertain. But those things can only happen if stories are actually told.

And that’s exactly what’s happening thanks to the continuation of the local Storied Lives effort, a program that pairs youths with senior citizens in an effort to share stories and bridge the generation gap.

While resident Patti Milligan helped get Storied Lives started here in Fountain Hills over the summer, she’s once again partnering with Fountain View Village resident program director Teri Larson and Fountain Hills High School English teacher Dawn Oester to keep the positive momentum moving forward into the school year.

According to Oester, Storied Lives felt like the perfect fit for her AP English Language and Composition class this semester.

“This is the first semester I’ve taught AP,” Oester said.

“I went to a summer institute and one of the things they were talking about was writing memoirs.”

Since a lot of her students are in their mid-teens, Oester was worried that many might not feel they had much to write about if tasked with crafting their own memoir.

“I thought this project would get them telling somebody else’s story and then, second semester, they’ll have a better idea of how that works and then they can tell their own story.”

A total of 15 students were paired with their story tellers at a recent kickoff event hosted out of Fountain View Village on Sept. 24.

The event ended with students and seniors being given some time to introduce themselves and swap information, which instantly exploded into a flurry of excited chatter.

The groups will meet on their own time over the course of the semester with the senior telling their life story and the student taking in all of the details.

A closing ceremony will be hosted on the high school campus on Dec. 16, where students will read what they have written for the entire group to hear.

Students taking part in the project include Emerson O’Neil, Alyssa Rolfe, Caterina Splete, Amber Bearden, Katie McErlean, Bruce Ferguson, Simon Edwards, Marie Buettner, Jonathan Goure, Harley Wince, Xavier Lopez, Adam Derr, Gabriel Anderson, Austin McCarty and Megan Donnelly.

Senior citizens include Phyllis Smart, Connie Kwartler, Dorothy Beutler, Opal Thompson, Thelma Comstock, Tom Kokesh, Walter Martin, Bobby VanWaes, Jim Richardson, Harriet Kamins, Jean McLaughlin, Gordon Riel, George Wilen, Barney Barnett and married couple Joan and Russ Larson, who will both be interviewed by the same student.

Rolfe and VanWaes were partnered up during the introductory meeting and will be spending some time together over the next couple of months.

“I think it’ll be exciting,” VanWaes said.

“I like spending time with young people and I’ve been looking forward to this. I was a little nervous about the generational gap, but I think this is a good match.”

Rolfe agreed.

“I’m really excited for this, I didn’t even know it was a thing,” she said.

“I’m most excited about getting to know Bobby and learning about her life.”

Two more who will be working together are Edwards and Martin.

Martin said he feels he’s lived an interesting life, including a childhood in Germany, an escape to America, a stint in World War II and extensive travel. It’s a story he’s looking forward to sharing with Edwards.

“I’m always interested by stories, what has happened in other peoples’ lives and what you can learn from other people,” Edwards said.

“I thought this would be a great way to learn.”

And that’s exactly what English teacher Oester is hoping to accomplish.

“I think this will be great for both groups,” she said.

“It’s a really neat program where they can make a connection and understand that they can have friends who are generations apart.”