Lincoln teens pitch in to help those affected by Covid-19

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School made the national news this week after dozens of students attended a party a party on September 11, forcing the school to delay the start of in-person classes due to worries about the possible spread of Covid-19. But other students are getting involved in projects designed to help seniors and the homeless affected by the same disease.

Joanna Schwartz, co-founder of Connections.

Joanna Schwartz, an L-S senior from Lincoln, got the idea last spring to do something to try to counteract the loneliness many people, especially senior citizens, were feeling as the pandemic lockdown took hold last spring. She partnered with the Lincoln Council on Aging to launch Connections, a program where seniors can converse with a high school student via Zoom, phone, or letter. Students can get community service credit, and both young and older participants can forge new bonds by sharing their life experiences or just chatting about their week.

Seniors are invited to a Zoom open house on Monday, Oct. 5 from 4–5 p.m. to learn more about the program. Schwartz will email a survey link to gather information on interests and preferred means of communication to match students with seniors. To get the Zoom link for the open house, contact Amy Gagne at the COA at 781-259-8811 x102 or gagnea@lincolntown.org by Friday, Oct. 2.

“My mom is a general practitioner, and would often tell me how her older patients were expressing feelings of loneliness and isolation during this time,” said Schwartz, a Lincoln resident who got the idea for the program last spring during the initial Covid-19 lockdown. “Moreover, I was frequently talking with my own grandparents on the phone and heard that they too were feeling isolated because of the pandemic. They missed getting together with their friends and seeing their family. I soon learned that just a 10-minute phone call would brighten their day.”

For those opting for Zoom or phone, the program will initially comprise four 20-minute weekly sessions starting in mid-October at times arranged by the participants. “Pen pals” will mail about one letter per week to each other over the four-week period, with the students initiating.

“That said, I hope the program will continue on after the pandemic, as there’s always a need for bridging the generation gap in our communities. And what better way to connect the generations than through conversations?” Schwartz said.

Swapping services for donations

More than 30 L-S students have banded together as the Coupon Collective, offering personal services and products to people in the area in exchange for donations to the Pine Street Inn in Boston.

“We ask the providers of the product to tell us how much they think their product is worth, perhaps for a little markup for charity; then we put that on our website and we ask people to donate that amount,” Rhea Karty, a senior from Lincoln, told Boston 25 News. Instead of pocketing the cash for what they provide, the students donate 100% of what they would’ve earned to the COVID Relief Fund of the Pine Street Inn, Boston’s largest homeless shelter.

The services and products that the group is offering include yard work, babysitting, friendship bracelets, baked goods, custom artwork, web design, and instruction in coding, languages, piano, volleyball, and more. They’ve also “sold” gift cards from businesses who’ve donated, including Learning Express and several restaurants.

Other students from Lincoln involved in the Coupon Collective are Samantha Broglio, Jennie Christenfeld, Bella Omar, Dasha Trosteanetchi, and Caleb Yee. The group has already raised about $2,000 for the Pine Street Inn.

“We’ve been able to have students at our school and others provide things they are very passionate about so they are able to keep doing what they love during a time they may be stuck at home and especially help people who may not have a home,” Sudbury senior Davin Martin told Boston 25 News.

The latest efforts add to the roster of public service projects recently undertaken by Lincoln youth.