At 3 p.m. on Friday, June 26, at the Northern Wake Senior Center senior citizens are invited to “Drive Around’ the parking lot to thank the Wake Forest High School “Zoomer’ volunteers who have been assisting them with technology. This is their graduation and appreciation day. Because of them, the center members are now navigating technology like never before and are less isolated.
The senior center staff will present each student volunteer with a personalized thank you made by the center members. Also, the first 50 vehicles to share in the drive by will receive a special treat.
Expanded tech literacy is a skill that will stay with our aging population long after the current lockdowns subside, Jennie Griggs, the senior center manager, wrote. Pew Research shows more seniors than ever have adopted smartphones, 42 percent, and 67 percent have internet access.
Until recently only one-fourth of adults over 65 felt confident about using electronics enough to go online. Equally important to understand is that approximately 28 percent of Americans over 65 live by themselves according to DHHS and experience loneliness and social isolation. These conditions are associated with higher risks of physical health issues including heart disease, dementia and premature death as we have seen exhibited in the last three months. The Shelter- in- Place mandate has exacerbated isolation, depression and death rates.
In February, before COVID19, Jerry Glenn, the senior center’s past advisory board president and adjunct technology teacher at Wake Tech, went to Wake Forest High School. He presented a program to the honor students encouraging them to assist the aging population with various forms of technology. The plan was to take place at the Northern Wake Senior Center after school. Each student would be assigned one of the center’s members based on their technology need. We were amazed when over 200 students showed up for the meeting.
At that time, our senior center staff had no idea of what was about to occur and how important the relationship with these students was to become. In the last 16 weeks the #ZOOMERS have played a significant role at the Northern Wake Senior Center.
With the guidance of Mike Hardee, our program coordinator, these high school students have been able to telephone or communicate on their computers with individual members while in the isolation of their homes. Our members have learned to Zoom, You-tube, live-stream and Facebook. They can now enjoy and experience the more than 50 You-tubes, daily live streams, and Facebook posts our senior center provides every day, encouraging forms of socialization and physical and cognitive activities. For this service of kindness we will forever be grateful to these students. Today’s “Digital Divide” can be decreased with techniques that incorporate intergenerational engagement. We know that the ZOOMERS are just a start. It is our goal to find funding for equipment for those who can’t afford such a ZOOMER opportunity. We hope you can help with that. Technology cannot replace the human touch but it sure does help with isolation and time on one’s hands.
This group of young men and women who named themselves, ZOOMERs” answered any calls we had at the senior center to assist those in need with technology. They never took a penny and never turned down a request even if they had to take additional time to research the answer. Several of the active #ZOOMERS have just graduated, and others will hopefully continue with our program. At this time, it is my honor to introduce the Gold-Star Wake High School ZOOMERS we are honoring today.
I want to first introduce you to Anthony Lamberti graduating class of 2020 going to UNC-Chapel Hill. Anthony received a scholarship to study abroad during his time at the University. He is the Co-leader of the National Honor Society. Anthony’s major will be in Business Administration and he will possibly be minoring in Spanish. Multitalented, Anthony also has a love of the arts and was looking forward to participating in the musical Footloose at Wake Forest High School until it was postponed. He heard about the “Zoomers” program at the Northern Wake Forest Senior Center from a friend in the Honor Society. He is an advocate for the program for many reasons. Anthony believes that knowledge should be passed down from generations and also passed up. The Zoomers program at the Senior Center does just that. Anthony recruited other students to join the “Zoomers making the program more versatile as each of the students has their specialties in technology. Anthony has shown outstanding leadership qualities as he expanded this program to reach more Seniors and more students, thus creating a broader base of help to both generations.
Anna Beckom is also a National Honor Society member, serves on the Youth Advisory Board and became a Zoomer because she enjoys helping people. Her goals after graduating are to attend UNC-Chapel Hill and double major in Business and Economics. When she is not helping the seniors, she enjoys soccer and cross-stitching which she learned from her grandmother. Her intentions, while maintaining her active schedule, are to help grow the Zoomer’s programs and keep seniors up to date with new technology.
Another outstanding senior Zoomer is Katelyn McHale. She is also a member of The National Honor Society and has been accepted at UNC-Chapel Hill where she will be studying communication and Speech Therapy with a focus on stroke patients. She also is interested in playing the guitar and singing. Katelyn enjoyed being part of the Zoomers programs as she virtually met interesting people. She enjoyed helping them with their questions and eliminating their frustrations in dealing with new technology.
The next graduating Zoomer is Hope Dominique. Hope will be going to University of South Carolina and she is also a member of the National Honor Society. She wanted to participate in the Zoomer’s program because she believes seniors and technology need to catch up with each other. She enjoyed working with the s eniors and wished she could have met them in person which she felt would have allowed her to help even more. Hope aspires to go to medical school after her undergraduate work. Her expertise in the program was iPad, emails, and laptops.
Additionally, we would like to give a special thank you to rising seniors who actively participated, Emily McDonald, Mary Kathryn Hendrick and Carley Parrish. We look forward to continuing with them in Zoomer leadership roles. Resources for Seniors will be presenting each of these students with a thank you in the near future. Stay tuned for more intergenerational engagement.
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One Response
This is wonderful!