Care Share Connect helps elderly maintain social connections
Frankenmuth junior Zachary Scherzer and five other students carpool in his red GMC Terrain every Tuesday morning to the Village of Rosebush Manor. They are part of a student organization that helps the elderly stay in contact with friends and family using technology.
Scherzer is the founding president of Care Share Connect—in Touch Technology. The group was created last year, and reaches out to residents in senior citizen care facilities. Scherzer said the organization plans to expand as more members join.
Senior citizens who choose to participate are taught how to use either Microsoft, email, Facebook and Skype. The group meets every Tuesday at Larzelere Hall to carpool to Rosebush. They will be accepting volunteers in the fall.
What inspired you to start Care Share Connect?
SCHERZER: I was looking for a way to give back to the Mount Pleasant community, (and) I thought this would be a great way to get students involved with the (elderly).
I had done this (before) throughout grade school and high school back in Frankenmuth. I started a computer lab at one of the elderly facilities, and I would work with a handful of people twice a week. It was just something that I love to do, so I wanted to bring that here to Central.
How many people do you help, and what do you do?
Right now we go to Rosebush Manor every Tuesday, and we work with just under a dozen people. What we do varies from person to person, but we teach them how to use either their own personal device if they have one, like a computer, laptop, smartphone, iPad or anything like that.
I work with one lady, I think she's 94 years old, who just wants to be able to contact her children. I set up an email account for her, and help manage that. I read the emails to her, she tells me what to write and I write them for her, and (that way) she is able to keep in contact with her children all over the country.
What do you do if people don't have their own devices?
If they don't have (their own devices) and they would like to learn, the university actually gave us a desktop computer that we keep permanently at Rosebush. They also gave us four iPads, which is very awesome because we can take that room to room or apartment to apartment.
What do you get out of being a part of this RSO?
I have really connected with the older adult population. I love building relationships with them. These people we are working with, they learn so much from us, but we learn tenfold from them.
