Generation Exchange
What is Generation Exchange? Generation Exchange is a concept that Matt Isola developed after a close friend of was gifted an iPad and didn’t know how to use it. Matt took the time to teach him the basics of how to use it. In that, he felt that there was a gap that needed to be filled in between the above 50 years of age and the growing tech gap.
Matt felt a calling to share his given knowledge with a community that missed the tech boom. He felt compelled that this generation of people would benefit from the exposure of being taught tech and did something about it. He started an event that brought people together to learn some of the wants and needs of the community of 50 years and older. He called it Generation Exchange.
At first, when Matt asked me to help him with volunteering for this event, I was skeptical. He explained that I would just be answering questions that people had. I was nervous because honestly, I didn’t think that I knew enough to teach others. I personally was afraid that I wasn’t going to know the answers to the questions that they might have and come across as being under-qualified. However, that didn’t matter, I just wanted to be there for my classmate and support his project. I was in.
It turns out that I was placing my fears above the experience of others. It should never have been about me. I wasn’t created to serve myself, but to be of service to others. In that, I was blessed. I was initially not paired with anyone, which I felt that I dodged a bullet. However, when I sat down at a table to work on a personal project, I had an interaction with a very nice lady, Jean. She had basic questions about her Gmail, how to make folders, organize things, and how to forward all her other email accounts to one email address. It was something that I could handle. But as I write this and think back to my two-hour experience, it really never was about the tech. I know, it was, but it had a deeper meaning. It was about giving of time to serve someone else that needed help. The feeling I got out of teaching someone something new and seeing the delight on their face that they learned something new far outweighed any nervousness that I had. I could tell that her life just got a little bit easier and she could spend the time saved on more important things. There is something pure about making a genuine connection with someone and receiving their appreciation. I took a chance, not a huge one, but it was something that was a little bit out of my comfort zone. I came out unashamed and blessed by the people that God placed in my life. It was a true blessing in disguise.
