Cyber-Seniors

Cyber-Seniors offers training and a rewarding volunteer experience for students looking to make a difference in their community. Volunteer hours are documented, and digital badges and certificates are awarded. Students develop valuable work skills that give them a leg up when applying for a job or post-secondary school programs.

Our Mission

Cyber-Seniors’ mission is to bridge the digital divide and connect generations through technology.

Pre-COVID, Cyber-Seniors achieved this mission by working with community partners to provide in-person programs. When COVID-19 restrictions were imposed, Cyber-Seniors responded by adapting its existing service delivery model to a virtual format.

How Young People Benefit from Cyber-Seniors

The Cyber-Seniors program provides as much benefit to young people as it does seniors citizens. Through their training and volunteer experience, teens and young adults develop important workforce readiness proficiencies such as problem solving, organizational & leadership skills, effective communication and professional work ethics. Volunteer mentoring hours are automatically logged by the Cyber- Seniors website and digital badges and certificates that acknowledge their achievements and volunteer hours are awarded. Older adults benefit from the program by being able to access affordable, effective technology training. Eliminating the digital divide allows intergenerational relationships to thrive, addresses the growing problem of social isolation amongst the elderly, and provides both youth and seniors with valuable learning opportunities and skill development.

Our Experience

Cyber-Seniors has been training young people to become digital mentors for senior citizens since 2015. We are the only organization in North America that has developed a standardized training program which focuses on teaching young people (who by nature are experts in technology) to work with, and be effective teachers of technology to older adults.

• The Cyber-Seniors online portal automatically administers surveys after students have completed 9 hours of volunteer service. The survey measures changes in attitudes toward aging and stereotype reduction, as well as improvement in skills such as goal setting, time management, leadership & problem solving, using the Youth Experience Survey (YES).
• Independent analysis, carried out by Professor Skye Leedahl, PhD from the University of Rhode Island, in 2016/2017, found that teens who participated in the Cyber-Seniors program gained skills in goal setting, time management, leadership, responsibility & more. This study was published in Gerontology & Geriatric Education in Jan 2018 & in the The Journal of Gerontological Social Work in March 2018.
• The Cyber-Seniors program uses advanced technology that ensures security and quality assurance in the delivery of all of its training programs and one-on-one tech support.

How it works:

• Mentors support us by participating in group technology training webinars on Zoom (either as a presenter or part of the Q&A Team) and providing one-on-one telephone tech-support to senior citizens.
• To become a Cyber-Seniors Tech Mentor you are required to complete our training program. You will watch 7 videos and complete 7 corresponding quizzes. The training is available through the Cyber-Seniors portal once you register as a volunteer and should take no longer than 2 hours to complete.
• Next, you will be required to complete an online profile to tell us a little about yourself. The information given will help us match you with volunteer opportunities.
• Detailed instructions on how to use our scheduling system, our secure calling system, and any reporting requirements, will be emailed to you within 1 business day of filling out the online profile.
• Volunteer opportunities are posted on our scheduling system and mentors have the ability to apply for any session that fits their schedule and tech skills. Our scheduling team will notify you if you are chosen to take on the session. In general volunteers can expect to volunteer for 80% of the sessions they show interest in. There is no minimum time commitment, you simply volunteer when you have time. If you require a certain number of hours for community service or course completion Cyber-Seniors will make its best effort to accommodate.
• Once you are chosen for a session, you will receive a confirmation email with any further details about the senior’s tech needs.
• Volunteer hours are tracked, and you will be able to download a Volunteer Hours Report from your Dashboard on the system. We update your hours every Monday.