This is an amazing concept but, infuriatingly, ridiculously difficult to get off the ground. I'm not even certain why, but it's something I've been interested in exploring for a few years now - but can't quite get there.
To give you some context, I'm a domiciliary carer for elderly people - very many of whom are lonely, isolated, and have adult children living overseas/have no children at all. They have a huge amount to offer, but nowhere to channel it.
I raised this with my DSis, who is deputy head at a primary school. We tried to marry together a scheme for elderly people and children to meet and form relationships/bonds. My Dsis teaches P7 in Scotland (11 and 12 year olds), and their history topic is WW2.
I told Dsis that we are very quickly running out of people who can give first hand accounts of the Second World War, and she was so excited about setting up a scheme for old people to meet children.
However, we were met with red tape and difficult rules at every turn.
For eg. I recommended 'Jean', a 97yo woman with all her faculties, an incredibly strong and fascinating old woman who was a primary school teacher herself back in the 1950's.
Alas, Jean wasn't allowed on school premises until she had DBS clearance. We attempted to apply for clearance, but she didn't have a current passport or a driving license. Nor could she lay her hands on her birth certificate, given that she'd escaped from Austria in 1939 as a 16yo.
I wish it was easy to connect young people with old people. I completely understand the need for checks, honestly. But time is running out fast to get these first hand accounts.