On Meet Houston Missions and The Simmons and Fletcher Local Missions Podcast, your host, Paul Cannon, talks with Jiya Joshi, the Founder and Executive Director of Young and Old United (YOU). Young and Old United was founded after Jiya’s grandmother passed away in 2024, leaving an emotional void in her life. To fill that void, Jiya began volunteering weekly at a memory care facility and quickly found her calling. Inspired by her volunteer experiences, Jiya launched Young and Old United with the mission of connecting youth with seniors to build meaningful relationships. The mission serves all of Texas and was created in honor of the love and care Jiya’s grandparents gave her throughout her life. Young and Old United is a youth-led senior-support nonprofit that aims to create lifelong bonds between youth and seniors, engaging people across generations. The mission believes that by building connections across generations, it can provide seniors with the means to engage in enjoyable pursuits with the youth and foster a community of joy and emotional support.
Young and Old United Partnering Program
Young and Old United’s mission is to connect young citizens with senior citizens around Texas. To do this, the mission has partnered with several senior living facilities, hospice organizations, Meals on Wheels, and other missions dedicated to senior care. When a new volunteer joins Young and Old United, they are given a questionnaire that asks about their interests and personality. The answers from the questionnaire are then used to pair the volunteer with a specific senior individual based on common interests, personality styles, and location. This process ensures that the senior feels comfortable with the volunteer and that they are receiving the one-on-one attention that they need from someone they can truly connect with.
Additional Services
As part of its senior care initiative, Young and Old United creates cheer packages that are delivered to seniors every four months. These cheer packages are intended to combat the feelings of isolation that seniors may have by providing them with thoughtfully curated packages of joy and care. Each care package contains essential hygiene products, like soap, shampoo, and toothpaste, as well as recreational items to ensure that every senior feels supported, valued, and surrounded by kindness.
Another service the organization provides is the Pamper Project. The Pamper Project is an initiative where youth volunteers give seniors a full makeover. Volunteers go to the senior care facility to do the seniors’ makeup, hair, and nails, creating moments of joy and confidence. This program helps the seniors feel rejuvenated, valued, and like the best version of themselves.
Volunteer Opportunities
With very few staff members, Young and Old United relies heavily on volunteers to ensure that seniors are able to make a connection with the younger population and build a community of joy and emotional support. As a youth-led organization, this would be a great opportunity for middle-school, high-school, and college students to get involved in their community. As a volunteer, you can sign up to help put together cheer packages for the seniors or help with the organization’s fundraising bake sales. Additionally, you can volunteer to connect with a senior in your area. If you want to volunteer for one-on-one sessions with a senior, it is a four-month, bi-weekly commitment. As a volunteer working with the seniors, you may help them make crafts, take them to do fun events like bowling, or just spend time talking with them at the care facility.
Ambassador Program
If you connect deeply with Young and Old United’s mission, but there isn’t a program chapter where you live, you should consider becoming an ambassador. The ambassador program allows students to start their own Young and Old United chapter in their hometown so that seniors across the nation receive the attention and care that they deserve. Starting your own chapter requires a lot of time and dedication, and chapters are expected to maintain continuous relationships with their team leaders, members, and senior homes. While it is a lot of work, starting your own chapter can create meaningful connections for seniors in your area, as well as for you and your team of volunteers.
Other Ways to Help
If you want to help Young and Old United but are unable to volunteer, you can visit the website and donate to the cause. At the top of the Young and Old United website, click on “Donate,” select the method you would prefer to donate through, then enter the amount you would like to donate. Your donation allows the organization to send cheer packages to seniors and take them to do fun activities.
Contact and Info
The website address is https://youngandoldunited.org. On the site, you can find more information about the mission, upcoming events, how to donate, and how to sign up for volunteer opportunities.
You are also welcome to contact them at [email protected] or message them through the Contact Us section at the top of their website.
Young and Old United is a 501©(3) non-profit organization. All donations made are tax-deductible as per the IRS guidelines.
Meet Houston Missions and The Simmons and Fletcher Local Missions Podcast is presented by Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. Injury & Accident Lawyers. Paul H. Cannon is a partner in the firm.
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