Making Connections From Afar: Au Pairs and Families Video Chat with Senior's Home

Earlier in the year, au pairs and their host children held a Zoom call meeting with BeeHive Homes of Frisco, a local senior citizen's home in Texas. The au pairs and children created lovely drawings and greeting cards beforehand and showcased them to the seniors on the call. Since many of our au pairs and host families are staying home, this event was a wonderful way for both parties to socialize online.

Buffy, one of the South African au pairs on the call said

We loved being involved and that the kids were also involved. Seeing the smile on their faces was the best. We know they cannot see friends and family during these times, so being able to send some love to them was very special.

Another reason that made the call special was the celebration of Beverly's birthday, one of the residents from BeeHive Homes of Frisco. Everyone on the call cheered by singing the happy birthday song, first in English, then each of the au pairs sang the song in their native language.

The au pairs, children, and seniors all shared stories about where they were from & their unique culture. This event was a great way to teach the au pairs and host children the value of getting involved with their local communities. Ariel, an au pair from Ecuador, was happy to share this arts & crafts activity with her host children. She stated,

I enjoyed making and decorating a sign with my host kids| the kids were so excited to hold it up for all to see.

With COVID-19 preventing face to face interaction, this event was a nice way to meet people from all different age groups and backgrounds, not only teaching children & seniors the possibilities of virtual meetings, but the importance of diversity and connection in our global community.