Institute students help pioneer tech support program with FiftyForward
G.O.D. International recently announced a new partnership with FiftyForward, made possible by The Institute for G.O.D.'s weekly ministry projects carried out by students.
Every week following chapel, Institute students serve their Nashville community through various projects. This year, students served on our organic farm, served meals at The Bridge ministry, visited the elderly at low-income high rises (which rarely receive visitors), and planned and facilitated a youth group for refugee teens. For the first time, Institute students also served with Fifty Forward in a new initiative to teach digital safety.
FiftyForward is a resource for adults 50+ in Middle Tennessee who seek to live longer, more fulfilling lives. Their mission is to support, champion, and enhance life for those 50 and older. Beginning this semester, The Institute for G.O.D. students helped FiftyForward pilot the "Intergenerational Tech Help Support" program. College students utilize their technological literacy to help the elderly understand and operate tech efficiently and safely.
Why is this a need? A few things to consider:
Only 26% of seniors aged 65 and older feel confident using electronic devices.
They can't just "do life without it." Sociability depends on smartphone technology, especially when reduced mobility and a lower impose more significant challenges to meeting friends or family in person.
Mastering technology is complicated when the elderly did not grow up using it and didn't need it for work. Seniors generally have a lesser frame of reference to absorb new knowledge.
Still more, elder fraud is rampant thanks to the internet. In 2020, elderly Americans lost one billion in online scams.
Many of you reading likely have a parent, grandparent, great-aunt, etc., who buy technology with all the best intentions of contacting their loved ones but struggle to employ it effectively. Many more have been concerned for your elderly family when it comes to being taken advantage of online.
Serving the elderly is something Institute students do consistently in their Wednesday ministry projects. Students often help clean their apartments, spend time visiting them, and leading worship or music times. Prioritizing technology is a new element, but something we’re very happy to be a part of.
Institute students, together with Fifty Forward, are standing in the gap to help their elders access and navigate the technology they need. This service includes how to Facetime their grandkids, how to avoid spam, things to consider when sending text messages, how to set up telemedicine appointments, how to protect your personal information and more.
Traci Bennett-Hobek from FiftyForward hosted a training for our college students on best practices when working with the elderly. College students tried various devices like headphones and blurry glasses to simulate the physical setbacks that the population they will be serving may be experiencing. Institute student Alison Jobe noted, "I grew up as a digital native, so I never had to work very hard to understand technology. For elderly folks, they don't have that advantage, so I'm excited to share my knowledge with them."
Traci Bennett-Hobeck, the Americorps Senior Volunteer Coordinator from Fifty Forward, wrote to us this message after her first few weeks observing this initiative:
"The students who volunteered with the Tech Help Support program the past two weeks are wonderful with the seniors, patient, and flexible in finding solutions for the many technological questions. The seniors are very appreciative. Thank you for partnering with us!"
The mission of G.O.D. International's Widow and Elderly Care program is "bridging the generations, the young and the old, through awareness, intentional service, and social interaction." We're happy our college students get to be a part of this bridge and to represent us as a college concerned for our elderly neighbors.
Leviticus 19:32 Show respect to the aged, honor the presence of an elder; fear your God. I am the LORD.
