Our Mission & Story
Mission
1Change was founded in 2013 to promote the value of caregiving, volunteerism, and intergenerational relationships. We fulfill this mission by conducting intergenerational programs focused on educational, recreational, and social activities between youth and older adults. We match trained and caring youth and adult volunteers with older adults who experience physical and cognitive limitations and social isolation. Training youth and adult volunteers develops them into natural caregivers for older adults. This approach helps solve the lack of caregivers that plague many communities experiencing a spike in older adults needing personal and companion care.
Make A Difference
Your donation can make a difference in the lives of youth and older adults. Please help us support our intergenerational programs by donating today.
Helping Seniors Overcome Health Disparities
One Change benefits older adults who may suffer from various social, physical, and cognitive illnesses due to aging, isolation, and a lack of health education. Many older adults experience rapid deterioration of their physical and mental conditions due to social diseases such as anxiety and depression. Obesity is another concern as many older adults are less physically active, and some have limited mobility, needing durable medical equipment to get around.
These illnesses are caused by a lack of social interactions due to losing companions and close friends and a loss of physical ability that develops over time. This creates a decline in self-worth. We allow these older adults to stay physically active and socially engage with young people and the community abroad.
Relationships are developed, allowing opportunities for older adults to become mentors and social advocates for young people while diminishing social illnesses such as depression and anxiety, which has proven to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Intergenerational Programs Impact
Our intergenerational programs range from in-person group sessions to one-on-one visits and virtual interactions. Caregivers focus on positive reinforcement, trust-building, and goal achievement, which all generations need. By doing this, we create positive interactions between younger and older generations. This theme is essential right now because there is a need for activities that connect different generations and improve health outcomes.
Helping Youth Overcome Health Disparities
Our experienced group of healthcare and caregiving leaders recruits and trains youth volunteers to interact with older adults and conduct intergenerational activities. This training equips youth with the skills to provide companion caregiving services to older adults. We have learned that there is a plague of youth and older adult programs focusing on connecting and improving health disparities in both generations.
These health disparities create an ongoing cycle and start during a person’s adolescent years and include being raised in a low-income or rural environment, lack of educational resources, lack of access to healthcare, exposure to drug & alcohol abuse, and many other traumatic episodes that continue into their adult years.
One Change benefits youth by giving them self-confidence and developing morality, respect, and values. Youth volunteers gain an appreciation and respect for older adults while learning critical educational skills such as caregiving, leadership, communication, and teamwork that prepare them for future academic and career opportunities.
Learn More About Our Intergenerational Programs
Click the link below to learn how we bring youth and older adults together to learn with and from each other.