Spotlight an Elder: Preserving Stories, Building Connections

Overview

The Spotlight an Elder Program pairs volunteers with residents in nursing homes for one-on-one visits built around conversation, activities, and storytelling. At the heart of this initiative is a simple but powerful idea: every elder has a story worth telling, and every young volunteer has something to learn from it.

Who Is This For?

This program is open to any high school volunteer who enjoys conversation, writing, or working with older adults. You don't need a specific skill set — just patience, curiosity, and a genuine interest in connecting with someone whose life experience is very different from your own.

How It Works

After signing up through our interest form, volunteers are onboarded with a structured conversation guide and a blog writing template — so you'll never feel lost during a visit. Bridging The Gap Foundation coordinates with partner facilities to understand privacy requirements (including HIPAA guidelines), identify willing participants, and set up visit time slots through SignUpGenius.

Each visit is approximately one hour. During that time, volunteers engage with the resident through conversation, games, or shared activities, and conduct a guided interview based on the provided template. After the visit, volunteers write a short blog post capturing the resident's story, which is then reviewed and published on our website.

What Volunteers Do

Volunteers who select this track can expect to: attend one-hour scheduled visits at a partner nursing home or hospital, engage residents through conversation and light activities, conduct a structured interview using our provided guide, and write a short published blog post following the visit. All materials and scheduling are provided — Bridging The Gap Foundation handles all logistics.

The Elder Spotlight Blog

Each published blog post spotlights a different resident's life: their memories, their wisdom, the historical events they lived through, and the advice they have for younger generations. These posts are featured on our website and shared on social media, giving residents a meaningful sense of recognition and allowing their stories to reach a wider audience.

Privacy & Respect

Participation in the blog component is entirely voluntary and always subject to facility guidelines. Bridging The Gap Foundation works closely with partner facilities to ensure all privacy, photography, and publishing rules are respected. No resident's information is ever shared without proper consent.

How to Sign Up

Fill out our volunteer interest form and select the Spotlight an Elder track. Once confirmed, you'll receive onboarding materials and be able to sign up for available visit times. We look forward to having you be a part of someone's story.