Help Is at Hand: Seniors for Seniors

Each of us is surrounded in life by all manner of communities:  these can include a neighbourhood watch in a block of flats or on an estate; a club for people who share an enthusiasm – from travel to arts and crafts; a group of volunteers or a community of experts in a profession. A community is something anyone of us can create – after all, if you unite people around a common cause or a shared interest, then what you get is already a community.

The project of Young Old and of the Timchenko Foundation called “Help Is at Hand: Seniors for Seniors” focuses precisely on communities and on how they can help those who need help.  This is a project for active seniors who feel strong and wish to help other seniors – those who need care, such as: really old people who are seriously ill, on their own or under lockdown.

We will use the project to tell you:

1. About the reason why communities are “the new black”, what they are for and why their role is in ascendance at this juncture;
2. About how to set up your own community from scratch, bring people in and give it life and meaning;
3. About specific communities and non-profits that organize community care and specifically in the format “seniors for seniors”; about their best practices and insights;
4. About the steps you can take next if you want to create your own project in this area or are ready and willing to join one already up and running.

All project events are held online between 1 and 10 December 2020 on the pages “Young Old: New Seniors” on social media. On the programme:

– webcasts featuring leaders of various communities on the Odnoklassniki platform: https://ok.ru/group/54921048293584

– Hands-on workshop 5 December, which focuses on how to create from scratch a new community for mutual assistance or improve the chances of survival of one already established, to clarify its goals and identity. The workshop will be taught by hands-on experts – creators of communities centred on senior citizens, and moderated by Misha Mironov, the manager of the Impact Hub community (a business incubator for social projects): https://festival-young-old.timepad.ru/event/1489973/

– an expert public talk about community care projects 10 December, which will be useful to community leaders, the staff of non-profits and charities and seniors-for-seniors volunteers.

For a detailed programme and event registration, please visit the website at https://zabota.young-old.ru