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The Caching Memories program virtually connects students to socially isolated older adults for weekly enriching conversations, providing them with an avenue to reminisce, share their life stories, and improve their sense of connection to the world around them.
How it works:
- Students sign up and are matched with an older adult
- Pairs connect weekly for 8-10 weeks
- All connections are virtual via phone or computer
- Older adults receive a book containing their life stories at the end of the program
Benefits for students
- Earn volunteer hours with flexible remote service-learning
- Gain experience in communicating and building rapport with older generations
- Learn about Reminiscence Therapy
- Develop vital communication and relationship-building skills
- Practice person-centered care versus disease-centered care
- Master storytelling methods
- Engage in delivering more personal care by connecting with a different generation
- Reflect on lessons from older generations
We are actively looking for students to participate in the program! The time commitment is based on the availability of the volunteer and the older adult. We pair an older adult with a volunteer based on if their availability aligns. Then, the volunteer and older adult will connect over the phone weekly at that same day/time for about an hour of conversation. A conversation guide, including questions and prompts, will be provided to students during program training.
All phone sessions will be conducted through achi’s contact center system and students will login to the contact center system to perform their sessions, providing a secure and consistent connection method for every call. All calls will be recorded for quality assurance.
All participating students are required to complete and submit post-session reflection prompts describing their sessions with their older adult and the stories discussed. These submissions will be utilized in the creation of a book for the older adult that will be gifted to them at the end of the program.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact Hunter Reeder, Engagement Director at hunter.reeder@achisolutions.com.
