June and July Telikin Cares Recipients

Sawyer County Senior Resource Center

The Sawyer County Senior Resource Center provides valuable activities across the four centers in the county, serving about 5,500 seniors with games, classes, and activity nights

Linda Hand, Elderly Benefit Specialist in the county, noticed a hole in the services that the county provides for seniors access to computers. The libraries in the county have public computers, but most of the seniors feel too intimidated to use them. The libraries also offer computer courses, but they are mainly targeted to the local college students; even the basic computer class that is sometimes offered is intimidating because the seniors are worried about learning with other age groups. Some seniors said that during the class a younger student would call out, I know that already! The teacher would then speed through the more basic concepts that some people grasp quickly, while the seniors are left struggling.

Linda found Telikin and realized how much the seniors of Sawyer County would benefit from it. She has already put a fundraising plan in place to raise money to purchase multiple Telikin computers for the county.

Congratulations to Sawyer County and thank you to Linda for nominating them.

If you are interested in helping out Sawyer County in their fundraising efforts, please contact Linda Hand at 715-634-8639.

Friendship Village

Friendship Village is a high class continuum of care adult living facility in Kalamazoo, MI. One resident, David McShane, noticed there are residents who walk by the computers in the library and say, I wish I could do that, but it is just too technical for me.

David nominated Friendship Village because he saw that Telikin would be a great option for his peers who are struggling to use computers. Ken Greschak, Director of Fund Development, supported the nomination and explained the communitys plan to recruit volunteers to support a Telikin program for the residents. Ken wrote that he plans to have volunteers on a regular (perhaps even daily) basis to empower our residents to use computers to enhance their lives.

We are excited for the residents of Friendship Village to begin learning how to use a computer with Telikin. Congratulations to Friendship Village and thank you to David and Ken for the nomination.

Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center

The Cloverdale Senior Multipurpose Center serves an area in Northern California with a large senior population. The Multipurpose center was first built in 1987 and since then has grown into a new building and has 550 members.

Brooke Greene, Assistant Director at Cloverdale, oversees the area of Computer Education at the center. While the center offers classes on traditional computers, Brooke noticed that some members were not progressing through the courses; they had difficulty mastering some of the skills required to use traditional computers, especially the keyboard and mouse. In her nomination letter, Brooke explained how she believed a Telikin computer would help us serve the needs of these individuals and bring the world of computing to even more seniors.

With their new Telikin Elite, Brooke plans to design a program to teach the centers seniors how to use the computer.

Congratulations to Cloverdale and thank you to Brooke for nominating the center!

Creekside Manor Apartments

Amina Rodriguez nominated Creekside Manor Apartments, a apartment complex for seniors in Clearwater, FL managed by Volunteers of America, because she saw a great demand among [the] seniors and disabled residents for computer literacy.

It was clear that Amina had an enthusiasm for getting her residents online and learning how a computer can help benefit them.

Amina has also started designing a project for an intergenerational program where youth volunteers will teach computer skills to the residents. Intergenerational programs benefit not only the seniors, who learn a new skill, but also the youth because they get to the chance to bond with an older generation, which is even more educational than the computer skills they are teaching!

Congratulations to Creekside Manor and thank you to Amina for nominating her residents!

In the photo above, six members of the Sawyer County Resource Center pose with their new Telikin.