Overview #2

This week, my nonprofit group met with the people from Hebrew Senior Life that we are now working with. We talked about our picture project, and the different uses the photographs would have for the company. A few things came up in conversation that I hadn’t thought of before, that I thought were very interesting.

As my partner and I started discussing which days of the week we both had available, we were slowed down. Our advisors explained to us that they thought some time should be taken, before we begin, to introduce the idea to the seniors. They felt that giving them the date we would be coming isn’t good enough; they want to give time for them to warm up to the idea. Therefore, we have decided to not begin taking pictures until February.

We also talked about setting aside a time to physically meet, and talk to the seniors before we go in with a camera. The concept of a coffee hour was presented, and this will likely be happening some time in January.

During the meeting, I raised the question of what to do if a senior didn’t want to have their picture taken. They had several points in answering this. The first was that we need to make it clear that the pictures are for the use of the company only. It would be on an ID card, file for medical purposes, and in a small scrapbook for seniors to look through. The second was to mention that if they don’t want to be in the scrapbook, they don’t need to be. It is completely up to them, but the pictures will be used for health purposes otherwise. The third was to steer clear of the term, “internet.” Elderly people don’t know much about how it works, but they have heard of identity theft and bad things happening on the computer. Therefore, we plan to leave that out.

The meeting we had was helpful for planning, but also became educational by raising topics and issues I may not have realized even existed! I’m excited to meet the seniors and start working hands-on.