A 2024 University of Michigan uncovered a stark reality: over one-third of adults aged 50-80 report feeling lonely or isolated. These feelings are life-threatening, with research showing that socially isolated seniors have a 75% higher risk of death due to depression and poor health caused by loneliness. Addressing isolation is not just a kindness—it’s a necessity to save lives.

Similarly, youth are facing a growing mental health crisis. The CDC reports that 44% of teens in the United States feel “persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness.” Such youth often lack the mentorship, companionship, and guidance needed to navigate life. 

My friend Ethan and I both experienced this first-hand. 

For Ethan. Since childhood, his grandparents were his main caregivers — walking him to school everyday, sharing meals, and telling Chinese folktales at night. However, these moments wouldn’t last.

One day, his grandparents revisited China for a few weeks. Those weeks soon became years when COVID-19 struck and barred all travel. During this time, his grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, which impaired his memory, and colon cancer, while his grandmother developed severe hearing loss, making communication increasingly difficult. 

These were some of the hardest years of his life. He felt lost without his grandparents' guidance, and the COVID-induced isolation left him yearning for the long, joyous conversations they used to share. 

For me, I share a similar story. 

Throughout my childhood, every summer, I would spend weeks in India with my grandparents. When I wasn’t with them, I would often call to share my day and stay connected.

Unfortunately, when I was in fifth grade, my grandparents' health began to decline as they faced worsening illnesses. Fatigue and frequent hospitalizations made it harder for us to stay in touch. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck, creating an even greater barrier—preventing me from visiting India. As months passed, our conversations became fewer and fewer until one day, I received the heartbreaking news—my grandfather had passed away.

Emerging from the pandemic, the loss of connection with my grandparents, combined with the absence of social interaction, left me feeling isolated. Due to my circumstances, I didn’t have much access to therapy or support to help me with my loss.

One day, I met Ethan at a debate tournament during the school year. As we talked, we bonded over the challenges of COVID-19 and soon realized our similar hardships. Soon after this debate tournament, we found a New York Times article and a Nature article that described similar experiences of isolation between youth and seniors during COVID. This realization not only highlighted how widespread the issue of mental health was but also a shared struggle across generations.

After realizing the shared struggle of isolation between high school students and seniors, we were inspired to create a way to bring them together. We began reaching out to organizations, but many senior centers declined due to logistical challenges. However one community center embraced the idea. After months of planning, we launched a six-week summer program, uniting dozens of students and over 100 seniors through storytelling, games, and interviews, fostering meaningful intergenerational relationships. Since then, we’ve expanded our initiatives. 

Upcoming and Ongoing Initiatives

Our CCACC team is organizing two future events:

• Storytelling Across Generations on Feb 28 where seniors share personal stories with youth.
• Volunteers of CCACC on Mar 18 where we interview senior volunteers and publish their stories on our website.

Our Letters for the Elderly program holds biweekly meetings to write and deliver hundreds of letters. 

Meanwhile, our New Jersey Chapter has been growing since its first meeting on Nov 20. They will finalize logistics for programs at a Wellness Center and Library on Feb 5. On Feb 19, they will launch their pilot program, where youth will interview seniors at the Wellness Center.

Three-Step Plan for Growth

1. Expanding Partnerships
   Our team has dedicated over 2500 hours to fostering intergenerational connections through planning, outreach, storytelling, and volunteer initiatives. We have worked with 350+ seniors across 10 locations, with 100+ students involved as writers, interviewers, and volunteers. We aim to expand our reach even further.
   • The New Jersey Chapter will introduce intergenerational activities, including read-aloud sessions and shared story-telling events
   • The DC Chapter has launched new partnerships for in-person interviews.
2. Building Sustainable Infrastructure
   • While launching programs is an important first step, building meaningful and lasting bonds requires repeated engagement. 
   • We hope to establish recurring meetings to foster long-term relationships.
   • In order to achieve this, we need to recruit and train a strong base of student leaders to manage outreach, logistics, and program coordination.
3. Sharing Stories on a Larger Scale
   • Once we’ve established programs. We hope to post our interviews through social media and our articles program on Inkstone. 
   • We will document and share seniors’ advice and experiences online, making their wisdom more accessible to inspire and guide people across the world facing challenges.

Through these three steps, we aim to deepen intergenerational connections, amplify the voices of seniors, and create a lasting impact for both youth and the elderly.

I am the Chief Outreach Officer, recruiting student volunteers, while onboarding and training staff writers and student leaders. 

Ethan serves as Chief Executive Officer, overseeing operations, planning events, and organizing partnerships.

We work together in securing funding for long-term sustainability.

Directors:

Zack, our Director of Strategy, develops and manages the organization's strategic plan.

Alicia, our Director of Programs, works with the CEO to oversee programs.

Steven, our Director of Technology, develops our website and supports the social media team and IONA program.

Aadi and Aarav, our New Jersey Program Leaders, run programs at a Senior Wellness Center and a Library, managing logistics, outreach, and events.

Alicia and Ethan, the CCACC program leaders, handle event logistics and planning there.

Faris and Jude, our IONA Senior Services Program Leaders, have dedicated over 250 hours to organizing interviews and managing our "Timeless Wisdom" social media initiative.

Ella and Alexandra, our Letters for the Elderly Program Leaders, coordinate biweekly letter-writing meetings and organize letter drop-offs at senior centers.

Beyond this core leadership team, we have staff writers and a network of student volunteers actively participating in our programs.

To capture the attention of people outside our team, we will employ a variety of methods

The first way is through utilizing social media and articles. These platforms will allow us to share compelling stories, interviews, and testimonials that highlight the transformative impact of intergenerational interactions. By sharing seniors’ personal experiences, we can inspire young people and highlight the power of hope and resilience.

Secondly, in order to substantiate the importance of intergenerational interactions, we actively collect data. Our first survey at CCACC revealed that 73% of seniors enjoy the presence of the younger generation. By conducting similar surveys at other senior centers and sharing these findings through social media, our website, and media outreach, we can capture the importance of these connections to community members, educators, and organizations. Moreover, we use surveys as a means to get feedback to improve our program for the future.

Finally, we plan to feature insights from intergenerational experts. Once our online presence is established, we aim to interview professionals like Dr. Lori N. Marks, who has spent 25 years in education and gerontology and founded a local nonprofit Link Generations. Featuring insights from such leaders would help amplify awareness about mental health challenges among seniors and reinforce the importance of intergenerational relationships.