Celery. Yogurt. Strawberries. Early on a Saturday morning, members of the Students Helping Older People (SHOP) club check these items off a list, learning to budget, handling responsibilities and forming connections with their local community.
The SHOP club provides groceries for senior citizens once a week. According to club members , it’s not just a way to make shopping more convenient: it is a way for young students to connect with senior residents.
The club has 25 to 30 members who have spent most of their membership shopping for the same senior citizens. According to senior and co-president Anna Mogel, this has enabled the club members to form connections with the people they shop for.
“You kind of become friends in a way [with the senior citizens] as well, which is really nice,” Mogel said.
Mogel said she and the woman she shops for often text each other life updates, even outside of shopping. She said the experience has not only been great for her, but for her senior as well.
“I think it’s just really important to have someone you see every week, especially because a lot of people are lonely. I think it’s a really good time for them to talk about their lives with someone,” Mogel said
Senior and club co-president Alaina Bodine said that she and the senior citizen she is partnered with often have sporadic but meaningful chats. Bodine said she has also developed skills from the relationships she has built and from the experience in general.
“It’s taught me how to schedule things, independence and how to find things on my own,” Bodine said. “It has also taught me communication skills.”
Senior and club co-president Annie O’Reilly said that the skills she learned from her SHOP club membership have been valuable to her. She said she has learned good communication skills over the phone, which makes the conversations she has more significant.
“A lot of teenagers communicate through text or over social media,” O’Reilly said. “When you communicate through the phone, you get to hear someone’s voice and your conversations are more meaningful.”
Mogel said the SHOP club has helped her realize the value of her own company.
“I think that it has definitely made me realize that my presence is a lot more valuable than I think,” Mogel said. “It’s taught me that spending time with someone, even if it’s not for that long, can be really meaningful.”
