Haverford College students are among volunteers providing respite to caregivers of older adults, often with dementia, through the Weekly Smiles virtual program, writes Stacey Burling for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The program that pairs student volunteers with seniors who need caregiving is a joint effort from the Penn Memory Center and Temple University’s Intergenerational Center in the College of Education and Human Development.

While it started as the in-person Time Out respite program, the pandemic has forced the program coordinators to get creative. Considering that seniors are in the highest risk group for developing serious complications from COVID-19 and death, in-person visits were no longer possible.

Instead, the program went virtual over the summer. This also increased the geographic area from which the caregivers can apply.

Now, the student volunteers call the older adult they were paired with on Zoom once a week. Then, they spend an hour talking with them while the caregiver has the opportunity to run some errands or relax.

The program provides seniors with an eager conversation partner, while students get a chance to see what it would be like to work with older adults for a living.

Read more about Weekly Smile at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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