ETAG needs volunteers to teach tech to seniors

STORY BY JON D. CLARKE

A Sheridan-based charity that helps seniors learn new technology is one way students can add to their Co-Curricular Record (CCR) and gain valuable volunteer experience.

ETAG, founded in 2008 by Chris Bint and Phil Shahinian, evolved from a project by the Sheridan Elder Research Centre that focused on teaching an older generation about new technology.

Now the charity helps people 55 and up learn about computers, cellphones, the Internet and other technologies.

The program’s travelling technology workshops have become a free and accessible education for older folks all over the GTA.

Any Sheridan student with a knack for tech is welcome to join the ETAG cause.

“Our goal is to eliminate the digital divide,” said Bint. Not enough people volunteer, and older people “need information that we take for granted,” he said.

But since the charity was founded, Sheridan has become a “phenomenal source of tech-savvy students,” with numbers now in the hundreds, he said.

ETAG ­­– an acronym that grew out of the organization’s original elder training and education roots – holds monthly recruitment seminars that all Sheridan students can attend.

These information sessions encourage students to become active in volunteer work through the program, and to use their familiarity with technology to aid others.

ETAG isn’t the only outlet for volunteer work.

Sheridan has a continually growing list of activities that can be officially recognized on a CCR, which documents students’ involvement in select extracurricular ventures.

“Forty per cent of employers have stated that volunteer experience has some bearing on their decision making (when hiring),” said Christina Wiggins, project lead for the CCR program.  Volunteer work “tells employers about who you are as a person, your values, your commitment.”

To find volunteer work, click the “my Sheridan Co-Curricular” tab on Access Sheridan and select an activity either by category or learning outcome.

There are 107 listed, but that number is always growing, said Wiggins.

Email an activity’s representative to get started and, once the task is completed, request that your work be officially recognized on your CCR.

For upcoming recruitment seminars with ETAG, visit etagonline.ca.