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Tech-
Angels’ Impact Across the U.S.
Tech-Angels is striving to improve the lives of thousands of elderly individuals across the United States. See below to learn more about some of our recent donations.
USS Indianapolis Survivor Connects with his FamilyUSS Indianapolis Survivor Connects with his Family
In April of 2021, Tech-Angels visited Florence, Arizona for a donation to a legendary survivor of the USS Indianapolis, Harpo Celaya. The Indianapolis was the famed ship that delivered the atomic bomb, however, on its return journey it was tragically torpedoed on July 30, 1945. The massive ship took only 12 minutes to sink, and the survivors of the wreckage had to survive for five days in the hypothermic water and shark attacks. Sadly, of the 1,195 men on the ship, only 316 survived. Tech-Angels helped Mr. Celaya, one of five remaining survivors, connect to his family through facetime for the first time via a donated iPad. Mr. Celaya had previously only had a flip phone and had never seen someone through a screen. We taught him how to use the iPad and he soon made his first call to his daughter in San Jose, California. We were glad to help and the look on his face when he saw his daughter and grandchildren made us very proud.
Connecting Oklahoma Veterans in our Grandparents’ Hometown
On Christmas Eve 2021, Tech-Angels was able to visit the Veterans Nursing Home in Ardmore, Oklahoma where our grandparents live. We were able to donate devices to three war Veterans from Vietnam. These Veterans did not have access to technology devices, so they were overjoyed to be able to get on the internet, contact loved ones, find books to read and games to play. We helped these three heroes set up their new devices, get apps and discover all about the electronics in no time. As soon as we saw them smiling from joy, we knew that we had done our job well. They were grateful for our visit, and we were grateful to give back to our grandparents’ community in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Helping the Nursing Home that Helps our Great-Grandmother
In 2021, after the height of the pandemic, Tech-Angels had the opportunity to visit Arista Care, an Indian Nursing Home in South Plainfield, New Jersey. The reason this visit was so special is because Arista Care is where our 98-year-old great grandmother, Prabha Parikh, lives. Our great grandmother (Moti Ba) was the inspiration for Tech-Angels, so we were grateful for the opportunity to visit her and donate over a dozen devices to this nursing home. Arista Care is part of a chain of over twelve different nursing homes around New Jersey and New York. Although we were not able to help the residents set up their devices due to Covid, we could only imagine their and their family members’ excitement when they are able to facetime each other. We were grateful for this wonderful opportunity to help the friends and acquaintances of our great-grandmother.
San Marcos Community Grant Fuels our Local Impact, Part I
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Through a grant awarded by the San Marcos Community Foundation (SMCF), Tech-Angels had the opportunity to donate several iPads to Village Square Nursing Home in San Marcos, California. While Village Square is home to approximately 100 residents, a group of residents were delighted to each receive their own personal device and eager to learn how to use them. We quickly learned from this experience the importance of preparation and setting the devices up in advance. One of the highlights of this donation was meeting a woman, named Nancy, who was living in the home along with her 90-year-old husband. They were thrilled when we were able to show them how to watch their favorite football team, the San Diego Chargers, on YouTube. We look forward to returning to Village Square along with the Activities director, Ms. Juanita, to see how the residents are doing and how they are using the tablets.
San Marcos Community Grant Fuels our Local Impact, Part II
Also through the grant awarded by the San Marcos Community Foundation, Tech-Angels was able to make a donation of nearly 10 iPads to Country Rose Memory Care in San Marcos, California. We had the opportunity to learn about memory care diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Dementia, from the owner and director of the home, Mr. Val Paraiso. We learned that while many of the residents struggle to remember days and names, they can remember many details from their youth. We were able to play YouTube videos of one resident’s favorite jazz musician. Although she was over 90 years old, she shared with us all the details of her life when she heard that music. We were also able to set up her device with her daughter’s number so she could FaceTime her more frequently. Another woman who we spent time with was an elderly Filipino woman who had recently injured her back and just moved to Country Rose. Jaiden showed her how to play checkers and word games. She said that she would now be able to do things that would keep her mind sharp rather than watching movies or sitting around. We were so grateful to have this experience and see the joy that technology could bring to this home and these individuals’ lives.
Partnering with Teen Athlete Volunteers
In the fall of 2022, Tech-Angels had the opportunity to partner with Teen Athlete Volunteers (TAV) to collect devices and donate them to Silverado Memory Care in Escondido. We collected and donated nearly 10 devices, including a Mac desktop. We met with a lovely group of elderly women, all of whom had memory-related diseases. We were able to find and play art apps, word games, checkers, and music with these women and learn their life stories. One of the women grew up on a farm in Oklahoma just like our grandparents. She had been a secretary and was eager to practice her typing skills on the new Mac desktop. We were grateful to spend time with this amazing group of seniors and look forward to visiting them again soon!
