TEEN VOLUNTEER BRIDGES THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Kavin Patel. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light.

The bond between Kavin Patel and his grandparents was the seed that sprouted a service revolution.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kavin and his brother spent a lot of time with their grandparents. As staying home was the primary form of virus prevention, the culture became increasingly reliant on digital communication. This was particularly difficult for seniors who didn’t grow up using technology in the way that Kavin and his brother did. But as the duo helped their grandparents use technology to communicate and navigate everyday life, they realized it was likely that other seniors could probably use the same assistance as their grandparents.

In 2023, Kavin and his brother founded Support for Seniors, an organization that enables seniors to connect and thrive in a digital age. The group started by hosting one-on-one sessions at local churches and eventually became so successful that they had to expand to hosting classes at local senior centers. There, community members can attend, learn and ask questions about everything from how to use a healthcare company’s iPhone app to creating a digital photo album for their grandchildren. The seniors trust Kavin to dedicate his time to helping them explore the world from a digital perspective, and that’s why Support for Seniors has reached more than 1,000 seniors to date. By providing them with essential digital support, the organization has ultimately fostered stronger connections within the community.

Currently a junior in high school, Kavin’s role as co-founder of the organization is a challenging one on top of his rigorous academic workload. Still, he’s looking toward the future. This summer, Support for Seniors will expand its offerings by adding new classes that focus on seniors’ health and wellness. By leading the seniors through companion walking and stretching, Kavin is hoping to connect with them more deeply.

The power of community connection is palpable in Kavin’s story of volunteerism. What started as a simple effort to help bridge the digital divide became a lesson in the power of helping others.

What inspired you to get started with this initiative?

I think my grandparents were the biggest inspiration. During COVID, I spent a lot of time with them. I realized during that time that we had turned into a more technologically inclined society. My grandparents were kind of behind. Helping them stay connected and teaching them how to use their devices was one of the most prevalent things that I was doing when I was hanging out with them. I thought my brother and I could make a difference by doing this with other seniors in our community.

Tell us about your volunteer role with Support for Seniors.

I’m the co-founder of Support for Seniors with my brother. It started at a local church, where we provided one-on-one sessions for seniors. From there, we saw that there’s a lot of demand for it. We expanded to a local farmer’s market where we were able to help one-on-one, but we were also able to grow the movement to a booth where we could answer questions.
We could see even more demand, so we expanded to a senior center in our community. We created scheduling so we were able to not only help one senior, but many seniors who had similar questions. We created classes for them. I set up one-on-ones, communicate with the head of the senior center and figure out when we can come in to teach. We usually have a large class. We help them with any questions they have or with different apps that they may be using.

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization?

To continue the support for the seniors in our community. Being a junior and my senior year coming up, I want to continue helping them in any way that I can. My vision for expansion is not only from a technology perspective, but also to other offerings, like companion walking. I think that’s one of the biggest goals. We noticed that a lot of people struggle, so we want to have an avenue to be able to connect with them and to be able to help them.

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work?

It just goes back to the personal satisfaction that I get from it. I see a lot of my grandparents in these seniors, and because I’m not able to see them a lot because they live on the East Coast, it’s nice to connect with others. I know that time is fragile with the seniors of our community, so definitely being able to connect with them and being able to help them is so rewarding. I think that’s one of the most rewarding parts – seeing how happy they become and how we can help them.

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer?

I think the biggest thing is that we never really know what people are going through. I think seniors have a different approach to everything. They have a different view of life, especially on technology. We should approach everyone with patience and grace. I think that’s so important.Everyone’s different, and they’re all going to have different perspectives on how to use technology.

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about?

You learn a lot about yourself. Going into this, I thought volunteering was just helping other people and learning about their experiences. I didn’t realize that I would learn a lot about myself. I’ve realized that what I want to do in the future kind of coincides with what I volunteer for.

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering?

There are so many opportunities in your community. Getting out of your comfort zone is the biggest thing. I was nervous about a lot of things, because I didn’t know what to expect. But when you get into that rhythm of volunteering and become comfortable with the people around you, you begin to enjoy volunteering and you want to continue.

What do you want people to learn from your story?

Not everyone has the same help and support. As I said before, everyone’s in different situations, especially seniors. Do what you can to make a difference in your community. Even if it’s one person’s life, I would say that you’re helping a lot of people. Individually, you can make a large difference, even if it is just in one person’s life. If there were only one person rather than a whole community, you’re still making a difference. It’s still very important to that person’s life.

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Kavin? Find local volunteer opportunities.