While Taiwan gradually moves to a super-aged society, National Chung Cheng University (CCU) in Chayi which is one of the serious ageing counties keeps promoting the USR (University Society Responsibility Hub) project, and at the same time develops USR HUB to deepen the practice of university social responsibility. Among them, the USR Hub project implemented by Lin Zin Rong, the director of CCU Physical Education Sport Research and Development Center emphasizes intergenerational co-living and local caring. Lin has put this philosophy into practice by leading students into the villages of Meishan Township in Chiayi, where they have worked with elderly residents to design fitness programs tailored to their needs. Additionally, the students have gained an understanding of the local cultural industry. Recently, they even practiced street dance together and produced short films, winning awards for their efforts.    

For the past 2 years, the CCU project USR 4-6 “When I Hold on to Grandma’s Hand-Local Caring in Intergenerational Co-Living’’ has organized numerous activities. The art handmade course allows elders to strengthen hand-eye coordination and prevent degeneration of hand muscles while making fine works. The team also takes good advantage of the CCU sport-related professionals to design exercise courses such as fitness exercises and physical fitness for the elderly so as to delay aging. Furthermore, students have been led to visit local industries and learn about the local culture. The CCU team believes that the elderly are not only teachers but also learners, and that through mutual companionship and learning, different generations can share and exchange knowledge and culture, bridging the gap between young and old."

Recently, the team of Project “When I Hold on to Grandma’s Hand” also formed a team called “Jump and High” with Chaiyi Yang Ming Hospital, students of Nanhua University (NHU) and six elders of Bantian Village to participate “Intergenerational Hip Hop Dance Competition” held by Taipei Jen-Chi Institution and was awarded “Teamwork Awards.”  

This group of grandparents from the countryside went through countless dance practices in just one month, and used the filter feature to shoot 30-second short videos. The seemingly simple dance movements actually incorporate various combinations of walking, running, and jumping, as well as coherent movements such as flexion, extension, rotation, shimmy, wave, and twisting of the head, neck, shoulders, upper limbs, and torso. The Project team pointed out that the street dance movements designed by the team not only have the effect of aerobic exercise to improve cardiopulmonary function, enhance muscle elasticity, and strengthen the flexibility of ligaments, but also can coordinate the muscle groups of various parts of the human body and shape a beautiful body posture. 

Since the team’s establishment in 2020, CCU Project “When I Hold on to Grandma’s Hand” has been a long period stayed at Taiping Village, Taixing Village, Anjing Village, Shuangxi Village, and Meinan Village in Chaiyi Meishan Township. The team focuses on interdisciplinary lifelong learning to cultivate regional talent needed for the ageing industry. They plan multiple courses such as "Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability for Hundred Fun" and "花甲 Sixty-Year-Old Volunteers" to encourage the elderly to leave their homes and enjoy learning."

Moreover, the Project is also expected to establish a cross-areas collaborative mutual aid network with caring communities as the core, which will become the concrete practice of humanistic care for generation interaction and the innovative field of care models and elderly life, leading students starting from the heart, by entering communities in person to achieve the goal of intergenerational socialization and fostering a sense of joy in community gatherings.