I work at a school on a military base in Oahu, HI. Many of my students do not get off base often, and feel disconnected from their community. After talking with local nursing homes, I have found that many of the senior citizens who reside there receive little to no visitors. I see this as an opportunity for my students to get involved and learn how valuable service to your community can be, while improving the activity level and quality of life of senior citizens.

Wii Can Help will connect middle school students and senior citizens. Both of these groups do not feel connected to their communities; by linking them and building the bridge, they will both feel grounded and active in the Hawaiian community. Additionally, playing with the Nintendo Wii enhances quality of life and increases physical activity level. Demonstrating how to use the equipment will give the students experience in public speaking and instruction and will also serve as a confidence builder for young students. Finally, the senior citizens' overall quality of life will be improved because they will be able to interact with other individuals outside the nursing home on a regular, consistent, and enjoyable basis.

I have several students who have already expressed interest in joining a volunteer service club in which we teach senior citizens play video games utilizing the Nintendo Wii. This idea was inspired by similar volunteer work done in Cleveland, OH by a staff member at my college, Case Western Reserve University. New research suggests that Nintendo Wii (including the Wii Fit application) can supplement physical therapy and serve as a powerful motivator for people undergoing rehabilitation. Students will be trained in how to appropriately interact with senior citizens and people in rehabilitation, as well as on how to use the technology (though the vast majority will already know how to use it). Next, we will visit nursing homes (I have already found at least one area home that is interested in participating) once per week to begin with. As the project grows larger, we will start going multiple days per week, with different groups. My goal is for the students to develop and cultivate relationships with the senior citizens. I also want to collect data on physical therapy outcomes, activity levels, and quality of life via simple surveys administered pre and post-study to quantify the impact we are having on the senior citizens. I also see this project growing to service rehabilitation and physical therapy centers as well.

Donating money for Wii equipment and transportation for volunteers (carpools).