NJ teens teach tech skills to seniors

NEW JERSEY (FOX 5 NEWS) - Retiree Frances Richardson of New Jersey has a new challenge in her life: learning how to use her iPhone. That's where tech-savvy 13-year-old Darren Wilkins comes in.

Like every teenager, Darren knows his smart phone like the back of his hand and now he's teaching Frances how to do everything from group texting to emails. Darren, who is in 8th grade, is part of a volunteer program in Hackensack that matches teenagers with senior citizens to teach them how to navigate smart phone technology and the Internet.

Randy Glover runs the volunteer program, which originated at church. He says the volunteer teens make the seniors feel at ease.

Frances and Darren just happen to be family friends. The program is in the process of trying to recruit more teenagers. You need to be between 13 and 17 years old; adept at smart phones, tablets and social media; and able to spend about an hour two to four times a month with a senior citizen.

It turns out the tutoring is mutually beneficial. Darren is learning about how life was when Frances was growing up long before iPhones.