This video was made as part of the Online Buddy Program for Seniors with Skills.
Here’s how you can help:
Join the Online Buddy ProgramIsolated Seniors:
Do you know anyone who is facing social isolation who might want to join the Online Buddy Program? Please have them contact SWS at volunteering@seniorswithskills.org.
Senior Facilities:
Do you know of a senior facility that houses seniors who would benefit from receiving video chats and might want to be part of the Online Buddy Program. Please have them contact SWS at volunteering@seniorswithskills.org.
Volunteer:
Do you want to volunteer to be an Online Buddy? Fill out this form.
Spread the word
Do you know anyone (news, blog, social media?) who might be interested in featuring this story to raise awareness of this cause, and encourage more seniors living at home who are facing social isolation to join the Online Buddy Program?
As a tech-geek, I have been quite enamored with this age of social media and collaborative team tools. My mother, on the other hand, and many others in her generation have not been so quick to embrace new technologies.
However, due to our current situation, my mother decided to put aside her resistance and give Zoom a try. The result meant she was able to see all her children and great-grandchildren together for the first time in an extended family Easter party hosted on Zoom.
Jaya Manjunath is helping to make this scenario a reality for seniors everywhere. She’s the founder of Seniors with Skills , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to ending the social isolation of senior citizens in North America.
Manjunath, a university student with a passion for helping the elderly, founded her nonprofit in 2018 with various programs including those to teach seniors how to use smartphones, computers, and technologies allowing them to be able to communicate with loved ones even when they aren’t physically present.
With the onset of Covid-19 and physical distancing, Manjunath is focusing on the Online Buddy program allowing seniors to engage in video-chats with volunteers.
The organization has had an influx of volunteers and continues to get more people who are eager to help; however, at this point, there are more volunteers than there are seniors who are signed up for the program.
SWS’s Online Buddy program includes any isolated seniors – whether they are in residential facilities or living on their own. We need your help in spreading the word!
Here’s how you can help:
Join the Online Buddy ProgramIsolated Seniors:
Do you know anyone who is facing social isolation who might want to join the Online Buddy Program? Please have them contact SWS at volunteering@seniorswithskills.org.
Senior Facilities:
Do you know of a senior facility that houses seniors who would benefit from receiving video chats and might want to be part of the Online Buddy Program. Please have them contact SWS at volunteering@seniorswithskills.org.
Volunteer:
Do you want to volunteer to be an Online Buddy? Fill out this form.
Spread the word
Do you know anyone (news, blog, social media?) who might be interested in featuring this story to raise awareness of this cause, and encourage more seniors living at home who are facing social isolation to join the Online Buddy Program?
NHDD is about being prepared with healthcare decisions and having crucial conversations with your loved ones. You can check out the variety of resources available on the site and check out this blog post for ways to connect and celebrate National Healthcare Decisions Day.
I’m inspired to write this blog post because I stumbled upon a Fitbit Community blog today, asking readers to “Share Joy.” Responses included quotidian things like:
Daffodils blooming
Clean kitchen drawers
Snuggling pups
Birds singing
just to name a few. Many of the responses noted (often quite poetically) having more time for creativity, relaxation, bonding, and connectedness.
Inspired by this blog, I found Fitbit’s Community Blog Program with April’s theme being none other than National Healthcare Decisions Day and “hard healthcare decisions”:
You may know that National Healthcare Decisions Day is in April. We all face tough healthcare decisions in our life, whether it’s for ourselves or someone else we love. What have you faced? How did you make the decision? What data did you use? What support did you need – and how did it change your life?
My tough decision was this: About a year and a half ago, I was told I had two degenerative back problems (severe scoliosis and osteoporosis). One doctor sounded so dire that it sounded as though I needed to prepare myself for a life of pain.
However, given the uncertainty of my future, I decided to retire a bit early, and make my health a priority. Most doctors agreed I should stop running, but, instead I did more weightlifting, walking, and dancing, avoiding anything that would compress my spine.
I’ve never felt healthier and happier since making these changes. I miss my work and running, but giving those things up have allowed me to have more time to travel and pursue other hobbies. I enjoyed a wonderful 60-weeks-until-60 project, having a different adventure every week.
I know that many people are suffering from hardships associated with the coronavirus, but I’ve been lucky. My friends and family are healthy and most are able to work from home.
So for me, similar to giving up running and my job, the changes due to the coronavirus have brought unexpected benefits. I actually have found more connection than ever with so many opportunities to help, to learn and to connect online. It’s heartwarming to see the world unite and work to collectively and creatively find ways to help one another.
Thinking about a future of pain or even thinking about death is scary, but facing those fears and making some decisions may help us cope better and feel more prepared should our worst fears be realized.
Let’s take today to be grateful for all the joys in our life, with renewed commitment to live each day fully (and at ease with our healthcare decisions)!
I’m a big prankster so my family is always on guard come April Fool’s Day. This year, I sent them an email, telling them that given the circumstances, I was going to “rebrand” April Fools Day to April Gives Day and send them a gift certificate rather than play a prank. This was the “gift certificate” they got! (Though the certificate was meant to be a joke, I AM an awesome virtual party host and would be willing and happy to help anyone host a virtual celebration! Just ask!)
It is a hard year to be playing our usual pranks and jokes, and I do think Giving might be a better goal thank Fooling, but maybe you can do both if you give people something to smile or laugh about.
I’m excited that this is my first blog post on my new CarpeDiemDay site! Now that deserves a virtual celebration!
