Varuni Chopra

My grandparents were my inspiration behind Bridge the Gap. During the pandemic, they had trouble with online communication, but I felt helpless (as they live in India). However, I realized that there were so many seniors in my own community that I could reach and impact. What started as an idea for a school club quickly blossomed into a non-profit organization with a high demand for technology help. I had no idea how many seniors needed help until our first session at a local retirement community. We showed up with 5 volunteers, thinking that a few seniors would show up. But when we walked in, there were tables full of seniors, approximately 40 seniors, all waiting with questions. This was when I realized the potential of this organization and how many people we could truly impact. We planned for one-time sessions, but facilities invited us back for monthly sessions, a positive change in our plans. Now, it is almost hard to keep up with facility requests and we are happy to comply. 

According to Eurostat, 87 percent of people aged 75 years and over have never been online and as many as 77 percent of seniors report that they would require assistance if they tried to learn how to use a smartphone or tablet. During the pandemic, these are debilitating numbers. How can seniors connect with families when they never had exposure to technology? Being an immigrant with my grandparents halfway across the world really opened my eyes to the struggles senior citizens face every single day with technology.  

This made this problem even more personal to me. Solving this problem means that seniors can feel less isolated when they are physically separated from their loved ones. It means that they can feel closer to their family while being states or even countries away. Last but not least, we teach seniors how technology can improve their quality of life, whether they want to learn a new language, play some online games, or even order groceries to their doorstep. 

As mentioned previously, we mostly target technology problems through one-on-one assistance. Originally, I had actually created slideshows that we could present at various senior facilities. However, I quickly realized that without visiting the facility, we had no idea what the needs of seniors were. This led me to recruit virtual volunteers that made handouts, complete with images and senior-friendly large print. Our program model completely changed, and I recruited volunteers from nearby schools at a 1:1 volunteer to senior ratio. This allowed seniors to get individual attention from a student, helping them create a connection and get technology help that was specific to them. At the conclusion of the session, we would pass out printed copies of the handouts pertaining to what the seniors had just learned. The handouts focus on individual topics (calling, texting, Zoom, Skype, Ipad Settings, etc.), allowing seniors to recall the material they had learned in the session. 

Our next step is to register Bridge the Gap as a LLC and mentorship from Prudential would be the best possible guidance we could receive when it comes to financial matters. As a senior in high school, I am the first to admit that while I love making a difference, I need help when it comes to managing everything behind the scenes. 

into their communities, we are continuing to defeat the misconceptions of the power Gen Z really has. 

 

I know there are other organizations that attempt to bridge the intergenerational gap when it comes to technology, however, I believe that personal connection is necessary to see that change. When I was looking to volunteer with senior citizens, I could only find virtual volunteer opportunities to write them cards or letters. While that is a great start, I wanted to help them connect with their own families and learn how to use the technology they already owned. Our biggest piece of feedback was that senior citizens want to give back (but safely due to the COVID-19 pandemic). Our volunteers now train senior citizens to virtually tutor using the platform Learn to Be, helping young students who cannot afford tutoring anee have fallen behind in their schoolwork due to the COVId-19 pandemic. We have also integrated a diversity and integration team to ensure that our lessons and curriculum cater to individuals with Alzheimer's along with neurodegenerative and learning disorders. 

In addition to helping seniors, our goal is to involve students nationally. Currently, we work with high school clubs like Key Club and NHS to get community-minded students involved in our organization. In addition to that, perhaps more importantly, we hope to influence teens to connect more with their grandparents. I've heard, "I wish my grandchildren would help me with this." more times than I can count. As a recent organization program, we allow students to get service hours for connecting with their own grandparents and helping them with technology (with a google form and picture requirement for service hours). We have received great feedback and love seeing families connect through our organization's mission. We also like to engage virtual volunteers (college students or students in states we do not work in) who help with our finances, social media, handout creation, etc.) Bridge the Gap has a variety of opportunities for any volunteer and we hope to become even more inclusive. We now started chapters in East Meadow (NY), Bronx (NY), Mississauga (Canada), Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. 

Since we have started, over 175 volunteers have volunteered 800+ hours to help over 1200 senior citizens learn 50+ topics. We have impacted 15 states and even have volunteers in Canada, the Philippines, India, and Indonesia!