Senior Center members express their gratitude to UI volunteers.

With the central location right in the heart of Iowa City, an intergenerational approach of the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center is a perfect steering force to bring the city to a prominent standing among the cities of our nation.

In 2015, Ken Brown, the associate dean for the Undergraduate Program in the Tippie College of Business, started the Computer Comfort Project. Its goal is trifold: to help seniors learn today’s technology, to bridge the age gap in Iowa City, and to enable students to receive volunteer hours. A preliminary training is required for the volunteer students.

RELATED: Seniors get techy with the times

There were four sessions at the center during the spring 2016 semester, five sessions during spring 2017, six sessions during fall 2017, and there are seven sessions scheduled for spring 2018. The sessions scheduled for 2018 are from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Mondays, Jan. 29, Feb. 12, Feb. 26, March 19, April 2, April 16, and April 30. Anyone interested can call (319) 356-5220 to sign up.

My wife attended many of the sessions, and she was very impressed by the volunteer students. They treated the seniors like family. They are courteous, honest, and knowledgeable. It makes us feel that our community will be in good hands. They also make us feel “stimulated, included, and enriched.”

My wife and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteer students and the Tippie College for providing our seniors opportunities to catch up with computer technology and enable us to “stay active, stay curious, and stay connected,” moving our community toward a better environment to facilitate the working of a successful society.

— Michael Chan
Iowa City