What are some ways I can help seniors?

To participate in the Meals on Wheels program, you can start by contacting your local Meals on Wheels organization. They will provide you with information on how to volunteer, donated, or receive meals if you are eligible.  https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/

As a nation, we've allowed our seniors to fall into the shadows. Left behind, unseen, marginalized, and overlooked. However, this is the largest growing demographic in the nation. Families are living farther away, and neighbors aren't staying connected. However, there are ways to change this. By applying the following ideas, we can help seniors to feel more connected and engaged in their communities:

1. Building Partnerships: Form meaningful partnerships with organizations that serve young people to create and sustain high-quality intergenerational programs. Use the community mapping tool to list organizations/institutions in your neighborhood/community that serve or engage young people. Highlight organizations that are located closest to your housing community. Appropriate organizations might include elementary and secondary schools.
2. Change the way you think about age: Combat the fundamental attitudes and negative persecutions that underpin age discrimination, so that older persons are given the opportunity to make a significant contribution to society. Celebrate aging! Don’t fear it.
3. Intergenerational Programs: Promote youth and elderly interaction through intergenerational programs, which help to bring seniors and kids together to form mutually beneficial relationships. Both groups have a lot to teach and learn from each other, making these intergenerational activities and programs magical.
4. Senior Living Communities: Create senior living communities on college campuses to provide opportunities for seniors to engage with younger generations and to participate in STEAM activities.
5. Outdated Stereotypes: Combat outdated stereotypes about elderly people, which can lead to isolation and marginalization in a lot of communities. By coming up with innovative ways to involve older people in the community through social events, we can help them to maintain a sense of identity and self-esteem.
6. Intergenerational Play: Promote intergenerational play by organizing activities that connect senior citizens and youth through fun and interactive activities. These activities can include STEAM-related projects, such as science experiments or art projects.

Here are some sites to get you started thinking: 

Respect Your Elders: https://www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org/respect-your-elders

Connecting Generations: https://connectinggenstoolkit.org/getting-started/building-partnerships/

Besides looking through the online resources at STEAMwSenior, Volunteer Information, the  Bay Alarm Medical has a list of 50 of the best online resources for senior citizens that include links to housing, legal issues, money and taxes, travel and leisure, and more.