Let’s face it, we’ve all shared the frustration at some point when trying to teach either a parent or friend, who may be slightly older, to use a smartphone, tablet or computer.

As we are living in an increasingly techno-based society, people need to adapt to new technology to survive. It sounds drastic but how else are we going to get food without ordering it on an app? Darwin explains this as the theory of evolution by natural selection.

I got side tracked there but you’ll see what I’m getting at.

The Awesome Chapter of Sarnia, Ontario recently awarded a $1,000 grant to Cyber Seniors, which will connect senior citizens with teenagers to learn about the Internet.

The Cyber Seniors program will run for eight weeks from October and will connect students to Seniors living at Fairwinds Lodge. Over the eight weeks, the program will gradually teach the ‘students’ to connect to wifi, search Google, open an email account and how to use social media such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Skype.

Creator of the program, Karen Minty highlighted that the benefits of the program are a win-win for the high-school students and the Seniors.

For the older students, they get to form new bonds and learn about the younger generations. Once they have gone through the program, the Seniors will be able to communicate with their families easier through different social platforms. Cyber Seniors allows them to adapt to societal chances.

For the high school students, the time invested in the program will go towards volunteer hours, show initiative to work with the broader community and give them an opportunity to learn about ‘old-fashioned’ communication and how technology has developed.

This is an awesome idea and something that can be easily adapted here in Newcastle. If you have a community project that needs some no-strings funding, apply today!