by Kathleen Wang

In the past few years, Tech4Seniors has evolved, and more and more volunteers have signed up to help a growing number of seniors. In the early afternoon, several student volunteers arrived to assist the seniors, whose ages range from late fifties to early nineties.

In the quiet library, one student helped a senior navigate her cell phone. She had just bought a new Apple phone and wanted to transfer her old files and folders from the old one. The SLC volunteer showed her how to upload her old images to the cloud, effectively transferring her files as they connected to her shared account. Relieved that her photos were saved on her new device, the senior thanked the student and asked her if the same could be done with her computer. Happy to help, the volunteer taught the nice lady that all her items are saved in the same account and can be accessed through any device.

In one of the classrooms on the side, a pair of students helped an elderly couple connect a Google Hub to their home's network. While another student assisted the couple with issues regarding their computer's storage and memory, the other attempted to create a Google Home account for the couple. After several attempts to get the Bluetooth connection working, the Hub successfully connected to the device, and the couple left the community center with a working new device. The students felt fulfilled and continued to help another individual.

At 3 PM, most seniors had their problems fixed and questions answered. In the quiet, cozy space, the volunteers relaxed on the library couches while waiting for the last sessions to finish. On this day, puzzling questions about computers and conflicting issues with smartphones were answered, and a dozen seniors returned home with a weight lifted off their shoulders.