PVHS High School Students Start Organization to Help Senior Citizens

By Kai Angelchik

February 25th, 2024

Three Paradise Valley High School students have shown their caring for others by the many hours they are donating to help senior citizens in the local community. They have created a volunteer community service organization to aid senior citizens with technological problems called Seniors Empowered in Technology (SET).

Tanmay Dewangan (left), Brookdale Resident (middle), Shubham Kale (right)

Founders Shubham Kale, Tanmay Dewangan, and Krish Desai are Paradise Valley High School students in the CREST program, an advanced school for students interested in STEM. Shubham, Krish, and Tanmay all have grandparents at home, so they've seen the aid their grandparents and elderly people in our community need with their technology devices. They saw the need and decided to do something about it.

Brookdale Resident (left), Krish Desai (right)

"The experience is very fulfilling; hearing them say ‘thank you’ and seeing how much it means to them is extremely fulfilling,” said Tanmay Dewangan, a co-founder of the group. “Interacting with seniors and just getting to know them as people is an added benefit of being able to help them with technology,” explained co-founder Shubham Kale.

“What they’re doing makes a difference,” says one resident from Brookdale Desert Ridge, a retirement home where the three volunteer. From fixing Amazon Echo Dots to replacing the batteries of a slow computer, SET provides a wide variety of services to the residents of Brookdale. The group has assisted 20 seniors since it started and so far have focused their efforts with seniors at Brookdale.

There are four PVHS students currently volunteering their time to assist others. The group started in October 2023 and are building towards a formal not for profit group that can qualify for small grants to help pay for technology repairs, batteries or other supplies. The three PVHS student said that the best part of their job isn’t fixing the technology but rather hearing the senior’s joyful voices thanking them for their services.

“It is incredible to see our PVHS students donating their own time and making a real difference in the community,” said PVHS teacher Jon Altmann.

Check out SET on Instagram (@seniors_empowered_in_tech • Instagram photos and videos) or their website (https://sites.google.com/view/seniorsempoweredintech/home).