Check out NHN-CP

NHN text 4 (black).jpg

We are spreading the word about a great new organization that is working to help seniors in College Park! Neighbors Helping Neighbors of College Park is a new non-profit organization that takes requests for assistance from seniors living in College Park and matches their needs with volunteers who have signed on to help.

The types of requests that volunteers can help seniors with are typically:

  • Transportation to medical appointments or dental appointments.

  • Driving seniors to shop for groceries, to pick up pharmaceuticals, or to attend religious services.

  • Friendly home visits to the house-bound by a volunteer.

  • Assistance in the home to move objects or help the senior perform other light household chores.

  • Volunteer assistance for snow shoveling or raking leaves.

To request assistance, seniors should call 301-222-3434 and leave a recorded message that includes their name, phone number, address and the nature of their request. The coordinator or a volunteer will call them back to make sure that the request is properly recorded, and will then solicit volunteers to meet that need.

Those interested in volunteering should call 301-222-3434 and leave a recorded message with their name and phone number or email. Additional information is available at www.NHN-CP.org. Volunteers must complete training and appropriate background checks. Those signing up to volunteer will be informed of upcoming training opportunities.

Help us spread the word about this great organization to seniors who might benefit from service or to those who might volunteer to provide service to their neighbors in College Park. You can direct them to http://www.NHN-CP.org for more information.

NHN-CP%2Blogo.jpg

Invitation to Participate in a Research Study on Responding To Digital Reminders

Are you an adult age 65 or older? Do you spend long hours at home? Are you interested in playing with voice-interaction technologies? If so, we would like to invite you to participate in a research study. The goal of this study is to examine how people respond to prompts when they are in the home. This research will help us design context-based, voice interaction technology for promoting a healthy lifestyle. The study involves responding to two versions of a reminder system (mobile, Amazon Echo) called PING, and wearing a wristband. PING will send out approximately 10 prompts per day. When you respond the prompts from PING, it will play trivia that are relevant to American history, music, art, movies, universe facts, or scientific knowledge.  

The study has two stages: Each stage lasts 2 weeks, with a 1-week break in between. At the beginning of each stage, two UMD researchers will visit your home and set up the study devices for you. At the end of each stage, the researchers will come back to collect the devices and conduct a 30-minute interview with you.   

To thank for your participation, we will provide a $20 gift card at the end of the first stage, and another $20 gift card at the end of the second stage. We will also provide an Amazon echo dot (~ $40 worth) as a gift.  

To participate in the study, you should meet all the following criteria:   

  • You are an adult age 65 or older
  • You spend at least 6 hours at home per day during daytimes (8:00 AM - 8:00 PM) 
  • You own an Android phone
  • You have WIFI access at your home
  • You have a data plan for your phone (i.e., you can use the internet through your phone when you are not connected to WiFi) 
  • You have an ethernet port (or router) at your home
  • You don't have speech or hearing impairment
  • You speak English 

If you are interested, please go to this link and fill out a screening questionnaire: https://umdsurvey.umd.edu/jfe/form/SV_1AGyn2k9mi6RXGB.       

If have any questions or want to learn more about the study, please contact Yuhan Luo (yuhanluo@umd.edu) or Eun Kyoung Choe (choe@umd.edu) with your contact information so that we can contact you for further screening.