Big & Mini
| Formation | April 2020 |
|---|---|
| Founder |
|
| Type | Non-profit organization |
| Purpose | Form inter-generational connections between seniors and young people to combat social isolation |
| Website | bigandmini |
Big & Mini is a virtual volunteering service that pairs seniors with young people to form intergenerational connections and combat social isolation. The non-profit organization allows pairs to video call through Jitsi and communicate through the chat feature of the website. It has active members across 37 states and 11 countries. The website also hosts a blog exploring different members' perspectives on the quarantine experience.
History
Big & Mini was founded by brothers Allen and Anthony Zhou along with Aditi Merchant in April of 2020. The three created the non-profit in response to the isolation seniors were experiencing during the COVID-19 quarantine. Allen Zhou and Merchant were both freshmen at The University of Texas at Austin while Anthony Zhou was a high school junior at the Texas Academy of Math and Science. They built bigandmini.org[1] in a few weeks. In the first three months they gained over 400 bigs and minis. They were interviewed by the Houston Chronicle,[2] The Austin Chronicle,[3] and actor Rainn Wilson's digital media company, SoulPancake.[4][5] Since then, the young founders have been featured in a few podcasts[6] and news networks[7] like FOX 26 Houston[8] and Spectrum News.[9] The non-profit was also featured on Today with Hoda & Jenna[10] in late July 2020.
References
- ↑ https://bigandmini.org/
- ↑ "Texas-made Big & Mini site helps young people hang out with seniors stuck in isolation". HoustonChronicle.com. 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ↑ Morse, Clara Ence; Fri.; June 12; 2020. "They Built an App to Connect Seniors and Students. Now They Just Need to Convince Seniors to Log On". www.austinchronicle.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ https://soulpancake.com/
- ↑ "For Those Feeling Lonely, This Could Be the Antidote - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ↑ podcasters, Omny Studio is the complete audio management solution for; Stations, Radio. "Chat Program that Pairs Seniors (Bigs) with Youth (Minis) - It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ - Omny.fm". omny.fm. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ↑ "Southlake teen's online platform connects young people and seniors in isolation". Dallas News. 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ↑ "Videos". FOX 26 Houston. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ↑ "Program Reduces Isolation by Bridging Generational Divide Online". spectrumlocalnews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
- ↑ "Online platform connects teens and senior to form unlikely friendships". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2020-08-07.
External Links
This article "Big & Mini" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.