Herralink volunteers helping prepare for a Wild West event with donations from Wegmans, Crumbl, and Cupcake Delivers, and Fantasy Florists.
With the demographics in the world moving towards a large senior population, Centreville resident Audrey Solano doesn't really have downtime to relax. In October 2023, she founded Herralink, a nonprofit volunteer organization that bridges the gap between generations by connecting high-school students with residents in retirement homes.
It's a big responsibility for Solano who graduated from Centreville High School in 2022.
On Aug. 15, Herralink was behind a Wild West event at Dulles Health and Rehab, working with Analucia Rojas, the director of activities.
"Audrey did an outstanding job planning and organizing a Wild West-themed party for our residents. The idea sparked during one of her regular one-on-one visits with a resident, who shared her deep love for horses. Thanks to Audrey and Herralink, that resident had the chance to see a pony for the first time in many years, making the event truly special,” Rojas said.
The organization's name came through a bit of thinking as well for Solano. She dug deep into her knowledge of Nordic terms. The word ‘Herra’ has a Nordic background for elders or seniors and ‘link’ because it links elders with future generations to create connections that grow to feel like family. The students who volunteer are called Herrahelpers, meaning elder helpers and they receive community-service hours for school, but both sides benefit from the interaction.
"These community events are especially important to me because they serve as an opportunity to meet the Herralink family,” aid Mahika Banerjee. “My very first introduction to Herralink was at their 2023 Thanksgiving event, where I felt nervous and out of place. However, with the support of my fellow volunteers, I was able to talk and get to know the residents. As a result, the community events have been life-changing for me, as they served as an exploratory ground to step out of my comfort zone while being supported by students and residents who were doing the same thing," said Banerjee, a student from Thomas Jefferson High School.