Papa' Company Matches College Students With Lonely Seniors
The company is called “Papa” and works to connect lonely seniors with college-aged students as surrogate “grandkids”. For those seniors who need transportation, light cleaning, or just conversation this new service offers an alternative to using up necessary home health visits for something as simple as help making a bed or preparing a meal. College students benefit as well. They can sign up for a much or little work as they wish, make some money, but more importantly gain a tangible relationship with an elder who can serve as a mentor in their lives.
The Papa program is based in Florida and was birthed after it’s CEO, Andrew Parker saw the need for help with his own grandfather who had dementia. The company motto is “helping seniors throughout their aging journey”. As so many families have experienced, being a caregiver for an aging family member can be overwhelming. Balancing work and immediate family schedules can mean that a caregiver cannot always be there for their loved one. With Papa, there is an extra level of support.
“They become like second grandparents, and we become like second grandkids or second children. You learn so much from them and they learn so much from you. It’s one of the most interesting experiences I’ve ever had in my life.” shares a Papa Pal.
What is truly unique about this program is that the creators of Papa realize that seniors don’t want to feel like a burden. Papa carefully screens their workers to offer enthusiastic helpers who “do everything in our power to make seniors feel young again”. The team members as called “Papa Pals” as that is their mission: companionship for your loved one!
“When you get to be my age, there’s times people are thinkin’, ‘Oh, I don’t want to talk to that old man’ Well, I have never encountered one of Papa’s employees that didn’t listen to me whole-heartedly!” shares Papa client, Sam.
Having been a caregiver, this program would have been a life saver for those days when our loved one needed an extra dose of conversation or a trip to the park on a nice day. This is a truly special program that we hope will take off nationally!