Social Call
Your new friendship starts here. With great care, we connect older people and volunteers for one on one conversations, by phone or video, available throughout the United States.
Do you know someone 60 or older who would enjoy a new social connection?
Would you like to volunteer to visit with one of our participants? Social Call creates matches between participants and volunteers for weekly phone or video calls. Our matches boost social connection and create new friendships.
Many factors affect our individualized matching process. Highly skilled and innovative Social Call staff work with a diverse pool of participants and volunteers across the United States. When making a match, practical factors are considered, such as scheduling preferences, interests or hobbies, or a shared cultural history. We also take into consideration a number of more abstract concepts, like the individual’s worldview, disposition, conversational style, and what interpersonal attributes they might be seeking in a conversation partner. By putting the success of the match and the equity of the volunteer and participant at the fore of our process, we are able to make matches that are mutually beneficial, where all parties feel valued.
Our matches connect people across the country and across generations. 70% of our matches are intergenerational while 30% are peer to peer. We invite everyone 18+ to volunteer and anyone who is 60+ can participate, volunteer, or both.
NBC Bay Area highlights the meaningful connection found through Social Call, featuring Social Call match Rita & Austen.
Check out the Social Call zine for a peek into our creative community of participants, volunteers, and staff.
In The Community
Check out a recent selection of Social Call in the news!
- Social Call Featured in Foundation for Social Connection Action Guide
- NBC Bay Area: 2 Women, Both Brought Together and Kept Apart by COVID, Finally Meet After 3 Years of Weekly Phone Calls
- The San Francisco Standard: They Connected Over the Phone 3 Years Ago. Today, They Finally Met Face-to-Face
- Dominican University of California: Impact of Creative Collaboration on Social Connections Research Project
- Coalition to End Social Isolation & Loneliness: Friendships Reflect Our Worth
- Front Porch Blog: 10 Things about Social Call on Its 10-Year Anniversary
- McKnight’s – Bronze Tech Award – Social Call
- Generations United – Program of Distinction – Social Call
- American Society on Aging – Innovation & Social Impact Award – Katie Wade
Katie Wade – Senior Director of Creative Engagement
Casey O’Neill – Director
Michele Foster – Match Support Specialist
Rosanna Aragon – Bilingual Program Manager (Tagalog)
Liz Avalos – Bilingual Program Manager (Spanish)
Karen Kemp – Program Manager
Social Call welcomes participants and volunteers from a variety of backgrounds, beliefs, opinions, living situations, and abilities.
Western WA – Olympic Area Agency on Aging
Pennsylvania – Brighten A Day
Kaiser Permanente Northern California
UCSF Coalition for Social Connection
San Francisco ReServe
