Nonpro t
BY ROO MOODY
The nonpro t also distributes food to seniors in need.
Seniors can receive technology help from program volunteers.
PHOTOS COURTESY SILVER HEART CARE
Silver Heart Care celebrates 5 years of serving seniors When the United States entered lockdown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Raghav Singh worried about his grandmothers, who lived overseas in India.
nonpro t provides a variety of free services, from driving clients to appointments to helping with household chores. Singh said the youth also receive something in return: the intergenerational exchange of wisdom and knowledge. “One of the biggest philosophies that we wanted to incorporate is the connection between the youth and the seniors,” Singh said. “The youth can do what the seniors can’t, but the seniors can teach what the youth don’t know.” Additionally, the nonpro t provides technolog- ical assistance, helps with grocery shopping and distributes food to seniors in need. The framework Another essential aspect of Silver Heart Care’s mission is its Wheels of Wellness transportation program. Singh said the nonpro t coordinates and pays for seniors to use the rideshare service Uber Health, which helps reach seniors across the Greater Houston area. To nance the ride services, the organization, which is fully community-funded, hosts an annual fundraising event, typically in the form of a charity run that takes place during the spring. Last year, Singh said the run raised almost $30,000, which was allocated to funding the rides, as the nonpro t makes the service com- pletely free.
At the time, Singh was a sophomore at Clements High School in Sugar Land. He said he noticed the disproportionate ways quarantine a ected senior citizens, and while he couldn’t reach his own grandmothers, he decided to help someone else’s. Singh said he founded Silver Heart Care in the fall of 2020 to bridge the gap between what seniors have and what they need. “At the time, it was really just about what we could do to help out people that are nearest to us, just people in our own neighborhood,” Singh said. Now, almost ve years later, the nonpro t runs several di erent programs, raises thousands of dollars annually and serves seniors all across the Greater Houston area. The approach Singh said Silver Heart Care’s largest program is its Senior Services Program, o ering di erent types of customized care to those who need it most. “What we’ve learned is that there’s no one need that seniors have; it really depends on person to person,” he said. “We try our very best to provide individualized care to anyone who needs it.” Through its youth volunteers program, the
The nonpro t hosts several fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for services.
Raghav Singh founded the organization in 2020 as a way to connect with seniors.
www.silverheartcare.org
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SUGAR LAND MISSOURI CITY EDITION
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