Boomers Zoomers!

I've heard a lot of people ask: "Do you see any good coming from the changes that are happening due to the Corona virus."  I've actually seen a lot of good including an increased interest many families are taking in communicating with seniors.   Not only that, many seniors are taking a new look at using technology for distance communication!

#BoomerZoomer - Mom's First Zoom

One non-profit that is helping to facilitate this change is Seniors With Skills.

I've been working with the organization to help promote their Online Buddy Program. They especially need help with getting the word out to senior centers or any isolated seniors.  See below for how you can help.

Technically, Mom is in the "Silent Generation" which is the generation before Baby Boomers, but "Boomer Zoomer" sounds much better than "Silent Zoomer" or "Senior Zoomer" or heaven forbid, "Older Zoomers."  So, I'm going to just stick with "Boomer Zoomer" to mean any person of any age who is doing a little Ba,ba,ba,zooming!

Do you have a fun picture of your favorite Boomer Zoomer? I was thinking of starting a #BoomerZoomer campaign for Seniors With Skills.  Since many people are taking advantage of the free version of Zoom, maybe donate $1 per "Boomer Zoom"?

But whether you have a #BoomerZoomer picture or not, there are plenty of ways you can help:

Join the Online Buddy Program

Isolated 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?

Please share this post with your network

Contact volunteering@seniorswithskills.org for a news story or blog post.

Social Media

Follow Seniors With Skills on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seniorswithskills/

Twitter: @seniorswskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seniorswithskills/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seniorswith-skills/about/

Donate

GoFundMe to help provide iPads to senior facilities.

Bridging the Age Divide - Students Helping Seniors

One of the non-profits that I've been working a lot with during this Corona-virus lockdown has been Seniors with Skills.  It's especially heart-warming to see students reaching out to help isolated seniors via the Online Buddy Program.

The non-profit has plenty of volunteers who are trained and ready to chat, but is having more trouble getting senior centers signed up to take advantage of these willing volunteers.

I hope to make a better movie once we get more footage, but here's a little movie I made of a video-chat session with a senior.

Do you want to help? Here's how!

Join the Online Buddy Program

Isolated 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?

Please share this post with your network

Contact volunteering@seniorswithskills.org for a news story or blog post.

Social Media

Follow Seniors With Skills on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seniorswithskills/

Twitter: @seniorswskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seniorswithskills/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seniorswith-skills/about/

Donate

GoFundMe to help provide iPads to senior facilities.

Seniors With Skills - You Can Help!

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 (https://www.seniorswithskills.org/), 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 Program

Isolated 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?

Please share this post with your network

Contact volunteering@seniorswithskills.org for a news story or blog post.

Social Media

Follow Seniors With Skills on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seniorswithskills/

Twitter: @seniorswskills

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seniorswithskills/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/seniorswith-skills/about/

Donate

GoFundMe to help provide iPads to senior facilities.

Happy National Healthcare Decisions Day!

As the new recipient of National Carpe Diem Day, I feel it's my responsibility to properly "seize" and celebrate every day, and that includes today, which is, among other things: National Healthcare Decisions Day! 

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.

After talking to my kids about it, my daughter suggested I get a second opinion and that doctor was much more optimistic.

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)!

A Message to the Tech Giants: How You Can Help Isolated Seniors!

Here's a message for the TechGiants out there: Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon:

As a tech-geek, I have loved your products! But the generation older than me...the ones who are suffering the most during the pandemic..have often been intimidated and may not even be able to use a computer at all. 

A wonderful non-profit, Seniors With Skills, had been distributing iPads, and are currently setting up video-chats with isolated seniors, but they need help!

Let's get your voice-activated smart devices into the senior centers so isolated seniors can easily get visits from their loved ones, even when all the restrictions end!

How about a competition to see who can get the most senior centers equipped and communicating with their loved ones the quickest?

I don't know if these are the best products, but offer up your solutions and let's get the seniors connected to their loved ones!

Facebook Portal+

Google Nest Hub Max

Amazon Echo Show

Apple Homepod

Virtual Dance Party!

Had fun hosting my first Virtual Dance Party via Zoom!

What worked well:

• Hats and coordinated attire (black and white)
• Girls only / informal / silly
• Good music!
• Fun to drink some wine and relax with girlfriends
• Michele from "Sara Dance Studio" joined and used Zoom for the first time! Now she's hosting her own event for her patrons
• There are a lot of fun, easy dances we can learn and make a TikTok video
• No drink and drive worries!

What could have been better:

• I wasn't really prepared about "letting people in" by the additional security added to Zoom
• I'm a terrible DJ.  I need to learn iTunes better
• We couldn't see our feet (though as I note in my video, this might be a good thing!)

Best Grocery Experience Ever!

I know that grocery-store shopping is something we're "allowed" to do, but based on my last experience, I wouldn't exactly call it "safe."

I've been monitoring Walmart's online shopping app and discovered that, at least for the Sarasota store near me, that if you sign in a little after midnight, you can get delivery or pick up service any time the following day! For example if you log in at 12:01am (the first minute of Saturday) you can pick any hour on Sunday to have your groceries delivered or picked up.  Checking at 5am, there were still some slots available, so if you're willing to order very early in the morning, you can get a spot for the next day.

I thought I was set with groceries for a month, but it was nice to know this option would be available if needed. When I ran out of something essential (deodorant!) I decided to see how well online ordering and pickup would work. Both Becky and I had some other items that we were out of and so we took the opportunity to stock up on even non-essentials like candy!

In Agile style, here's what worked well and what I think could be better:

What worked well:

• Availability of groceries
• Whatever wasn't available, there were good substitutions
• You could "check in" when you were on your way
• Service was extremely fast! Someone was out as soon as I drove up!
• Becky and I have been more intentional about what food we're buying
• Our food and 'fridge are cleaner than ever!
• I felt so much more secure than going into the store with the crowds
• It was much easier to search for the food I needed online rather than in the grocery store
• No need to wait in lines!

What could have been better

• It would have been nice to be able to give a tip online
• Of course, it would be nice if there was more availability

Finding peace in a time of crisis

Since everyone started freaking out about the Corona virus, I've been somewhat manic about wanting to help. I've helped people throughout my career collaborate using online technologies. I also was an "Agile coach" which means I'm familiar with frameworks that help put some structure around dealing with change and uncertainty.  If there was any time that I have the skills to help people, it would be now.

And yet I feel helpless. Not because I'm stuck at home, but because the vastness of this crisis is so huge, involving everyone in the world. 

When I hear people predicting doom and gloom, I feel like "virtually screaming": CALM DOWN! but, yeah, I know...not helpful.  It's like when there's an email storm and people hit Reply All to say: "Stop hitting Reply All!" 

One step better is my "Super Carpe Diem Woman is HERE to SAVE the DAY!" attitude.

I've had so many ideas of how I can help, and I am making progress on some of them. Baby steps, but steps, just the same.

However, some of my ideas, when I really think about them, are quite ridiculous. For example, I thought I might create a Website to match people who want to help with those who can help. This would be like thinking I could swim across the ocean when I can barely swim a lap across a pool.

To my relief, I realize that organizations that are already set up to match up volunteers are adapting to take into account remote volunteers. Besides this long list of remote opportunities that my daughter-in-law put together, I found last night that Volunteer Match has added a COVID-19 feature with 70,898 virtual opportunities available!

So for now, I'm finding peace these ways:

• Enjoying long talks with my housemate, Becky, and other friends on the phone or via Web chats
• Finding routine
• Enjoying the beautiful sunsets and sunrises here
• Enjoying music
• Snuggling with Becky's cute little doggie, Jack
• Walking
• Enjoying serenity
• Blogging
• Trying to help small businesses with their online presence
• Helping people with Zoom
• Enjoying the creative efforts that are being shared on social media
• Learning Wordpress
• Taking Zumba classes over Zoom... maybe this should be called Zoomba?
• Having patience
• Learning iMovie
• Trusting in a higher power

I've realized I can't swim the ocean, but I can help myself and others stay afloat together (maybe in our flamingo inner tubes!) as we wait out the storm.

What brings you peace?