Conversations to Remember is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated towards combating loneliness and isolation felt by senior citizens. Their virtual visit program matches 2-3 college students with residents of long-term care, assisted living, and memory care communities for virtual video visits. These residents have been suffering from isolation, and students could really brighten their days just by speaking with them. Conservations to Remember provides training to the students in the program about the best ways to interact with the seniors, as well as additional support throughout their service. Since these visits are virtual, students can do it without any travel. This is both convenient, and allows more of the volunteers’ time to be spent volunteering, rather than commuting to their volunteering location. They provide this program free of charge to seniors across the country, and have students from around the country as well.

Typically, students volunteer 1-2 hours per week. Each call lasts up to one hour, based on the senior’s attention span and mood on each day. We expect students to volunteer for approximately 16 weeks, so that they can build a friendship with the senior. This does not need to coincide with the start of a semester, as we have new seniors starting all the time, and train new volunteers weekly. The students are matched based on the times that they’re available, with a senior who is available at the same time, and they will have a regular, weekly appointment for their visit. Students wishing for more visits or other opportunities that allow them to volunteer more hours can be accommodated with different ways to volunteer, such as assisting us with our social media, call support, or outreach. 

Students can register to volunteer by filling out a volunteer interest form on their website.