Zoom Connects Senior Storytellers with Children to Read Books
Reading stories to children is beneficial to both the child and the person reading the story. Due to the pandemic, traditional storytelling has gotten a little help from Zoom. Multiple services and organizations have been launched since the pandemic began and are designed to connect and engage both seniors and children through reading. Here is everything you need to know about engaging seniors through virtual storytelling.
Goodnight Zoom
COVID-19 has put many seniors into isolation in an attempt to keep them healthy. Social activities like going to church, attending book clubs, visiting with friends and family, and going to events have been put on hold. Without them, seniors have had a difficult time finding a new purpose and maintaining connections. The organization Goodnight Zoom connects seniors and gives them purpose through Zoom. Goodnight Zoom matches seniors who sign up with children and their families who want to hear stories.
The two sides connect for an interactive storytime. And the best part is that storytellers from all over the world can sign up which means children can hear stories from other countries.
StoriiTime
StoriiCare is a company that specializes in software for assisted living communities for seniors. When the pandemic began, the company recognized a problem. Residents who lived in the communities they serve had to change the way they did things. Larger group activities were no longer as safe as they once were. So people found themselves limited to activities in their rooms or activities at a distance from one another.
In an effort to help keep residents connected and give communities safe virtual activity options, the company founded StoriiTime. StoriiTime makes it easy for adults over 50 in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom to volunteer and read stories to children ages 13 and under. They even provide book recommendations if a reader doesn’t have a story in mind.
Keeping seniors connected and engaged are two things that the companion caregivers at Optimal Senior Care Solutions do very well. Home care offers a tremendous value especially in these times of families being isolated from each other. If you know a senior struggling to overcome isolation in Orange County or Newport Beach, CA, reach out to us today. Our team of senior care experts would be happy to match them with a caregiver.
