During the pandemic, many seniors have not known how they’re gonna get their next meal and their medication.
I remember speaking to my own grandparents and seeing how scared they were of having to go out and put themselves at risk of the virus.
Teens Helping Seniors began with friends at my school. But as soon as we got our first article in local media, we ended up getting requests from seniors all across our state and across the country. And so at this point, I knew we had to expand the organization.
We had a chapter start in New York and a chapter in Nevada and a chapter in Texas, and very soon we had spread all across the country.
Young people have been so eager to help. We’ve had over a thousand teenagers sign up, and it’s been amazing to feel the enthusiasm.
It’s not just about providing food and medicine, it’s also about providing human connection. In the moment when I hand a senior the bag of groceries, I see the sparks of tikkun olam.
When I see the smile on their face, I know that I’m making their day better and I know that I’m helping them. That is what has kept us going. That’s been our motivation, and we’re gonna continue to expand and grow our efforts to help those around us.