Engaging with the elders in the community
Donation protected
Hi,
my name is Kamran Zia and I am a student (Junior) at Mountain View High School, based in Mountain View, CA. Thank you for taking the time to read this note. I am hoping that we can all come together to support those in need in our community during these challenging times.
As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic many elders in nursing homes and care facilities are feeling increasingly isolated. Given the need to protect older members of our population from potential infection, family members have had to reduce visits to older family members.
I have grandparents in England and I have seen firsthand how this "social distancing" has caused an drastic increase in their anxiety and sense of loneliness. Likewise, throughout America, millions of older adults are experiencing similar emotions to my grandparents. The reduction in social interaction is having a negative impact on older people's mental health and well-being.
I have found that communicating with my grandparents on a frequent basis, via video chat and telephone, has helped them feel connected to the outside world. I believe that connecting & communicating with older adults, who may be feeling lonely and isolated, can help adults feel involved, purposeful and emotionally engaged.
In speaking with caregivers at local care facilities in Northern California, I learned that many older adults would also benefit from communication & engagement through fun activities, which can help bring a sense of comfort to the elderly who may be feeling lonely.
Over the past few weeks I have reached out to some nursing homes and care facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the supervisors and care coordinators at these facilities are very supportive of an effort to help connect the broader community with elderly residents at their facilities.
This campaign to "Engage with the Elderly" aims to raise money to buy some tablet devices, arts & crafts kits, knitting supplies, word search puzzles, DVD players, board games, etc. which we will donate to several local care facilities.
In parallel, we have begun an outreach effort to ask students at local schools and their families to volunteer to communicate & connect with residents at the care/nursing homes. The volunteers will connect with older adults through multiple modes, including using video chat to communicate with elderly residents who we will provide tablets to, writing letters and sending messages, pre-recording video messages that can be viewed on portable DVD players. We are also looking for talented volunteers willing to record some aspect of their talent (singing, poetry, dancing, etc.) that we can share with the elderly.
This fund aims to to help combat the loneliness our elders are experiencing and to help let them know they are not alone . I will be sharing videos and updates on how your contributions are helping. Covid-19 is affecting our elders in so many ways. Many have not been able to see their loved ones in person for many weeks.
Will you help us comfort and bring some fun back in their lives? Please consider supporting our elders in nursing homes & care facilities.
Please donate generously .
Update: After receiving more money and exceeding the expected amount, I've acquired enough money to purchase activities such as playing cards, poker sets, activity workbooks, coloring sets, devices such as ipads/tablets, and also larger items such as game consoles, including multiple Wiis. The delivery of these items has also completely transformed the activity centers of multiple nursing homes, with many of the items already being used.
Here is a link to a news channel with our project:
https://www.ktvu.com/video/684940
There are also many pictures of the donations being made:
my name is Kamran Zia and I am a student (Junior) at Mountain View High School, based in Mountain View, CA. Thank you for taking the time to read this note. I am hoping that we can all come together to support those in need in our community during these challenging times.
As a result of the Covid 19 pandemic many elders in nursing homes and care facilities are feeling increasingly isolated. Given the need to protect older members of our population from potential infection, family members have had to reduce visits to older family members.
I have grandparents in England and I have seen firsthand how this "social distancing" has caused an drastic increase in their anxiety and sense of loneliness. Likewise, throughout America, millions of older adults are experiencing similar emotions to my grandparents. The reduction in social interaction is having a negative impact on older people's mental health and well-being.
I have found that communicating with my grandparents on a frequent basis, via video chat and telephone, has helped them feel connected to the outside world. I believe that connecting & communicating with older adults, who may be feeling lonely and isolated, can help adults feel involved, purposeful and emotionally engaged.
In speaking with caregivers at local care facilities in Northern California, I learned that many older adults would also benefit from communication & engagement through fun activities, which can help bring a sense of comfort to the elderly who may be feeling lonely.
Over the past few weeks I have reached out to some nursing homes and care facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the supervisors and care coordinators at these facilities are very supportive of an effort to help connect the broader community with elderly residents at their facilities.
This campaign to "Engage with the Elderly" aims to raise money to buy some tablet devices, arts & crafts kits, knitting supplies, word search puzzles, DVD players, board games, etc. which we will donate to several local care facilities.
In parallel, we have begun an outreach effort to ask students at local schools and their families to volunteer to communicate & connect with residents at the care/nursing homes. The volunteers will connect with older adults through multiple modes, including using video chat to communicate with elderly residents who we will provide tablets to, writing letters and sending messages, pre-recording video messages that can be viewed on portable DVD players. We are also looking for talented volunteers willing to record some aspect of their talent (singing, poetry, dancing, etc.) that we can share with the elderly.
This fund aims to to help combat the loneliness our elders are experiencing and to help let them know they are not alone . I will be sharing videos and updates on how your contributions are helping. Covid-19 is affecting our elders in so many ways. Many have not been able to see their loved ones in person for many weeks.
Will you help us comfort and bring some fun back in their lives? Please consider supporting our elders in nursing homes & care facilities.
Please donate generously .
Update: After receiving more money and exceeding the expected amount, I've acquired enough money to purchase activities such as playing cards, poker sets, activity workbooks, coloring sets, devices such as ipads/tablets, and also larger items such as game consoles, including multiple Wiis. The delivery of these items has also completely transformed the activity centers of multiple nursing homes, with many of the items already being used.
Here is a link to a news channel with our project:
https://www.ktvu.com/video/684940
There are also many pictures of the donations being made:
Organizer
Kamran Zia
Organizer
Los Altos, CA
