The Caring Companions club at the University of Mississippi serves the assisted living facilities in Oxford through companionship and events, giving students a way to connect with older generations while serving the community.
Throughout the year, students are able to participate in a variety of events at assisted living homes, such as bingo nights and even seasonal gatherings such as trick-or-treating.
Abigail Allen, a senior biology major from Fort Worth, Texas, who serves as the president of Caring Companions, said the idea behind these events is to encourage interaction between the assisted living community and visitors while providing students an opportunity to serve the community.
“There’s nothing like serving the residents at the assisted living homes, and it’s really sweet to see how much it means to them as well,” Allen said.
Eckard’s connection to the organization stems from her own experience of having a grandmother in a nursing home. Seeing her loved one in a similar environment emphasized the importance of companionship and visitation.
“When you have a loved one in that environment, you begin to look at things from a different perspective,” Eckard said. “You want them to feel loved, cared for and, most importantly, like they are at home.”
Caring Companions began as a group of students volunteering at the assisted living facility, which was formerly known as The Pinnacle of Oxford. The club has expanded to include Ellison Assisted Living of Oxford.
According to Allen, the organization has approximately 600 student members who help raise money, with an estimated 400 active volunteers.
After hearing about the organization through other students, Allen joined Caring Companions during the spring semester of her freshman year. What began as a way to complete volunteer hours became a meaningful aspect of her college experience.
“I continued to volunteer there pretty actively throughout that semester, freshman year. … I would try to go at least once a week throughout my entire sophomore year,” Allen said. “Sometimes I would end up going two to three times a week just because I really enjoyed it.”
By her second year at Ole Miss, Allen was volunteering at least once a week, and devoting large amounts of time to connecting with residents in assisted living facilities around Oxford. She later served as the organization’s treasurer before eventually becoming president.
“I feel like over the years, I’ve just learned so much wisdom through the residents,” Allen said. “Hearing about the stories and learning about what they’ve experienced has just been really cool.”
Throughout the year, Caring Companions organizes activities ranging from simple visits to holiday celebrations. The group has hosted Valentine’s Day parties, a decades-themed celebration and a program inspired by the Salvation Army Angel Tree inintiative in which student volunteers were paired with residents to provide personalized gifts.
Eckard emphasized that her favorite memories have come from ordinary visits. She recalled an interaction following a bingo game when a resident expressed their gratitude for the students’ presence.
“(A resident said,) ‘Can we just take y’all in as our grandchildren? We just love y’all so much,’” Eckard said. “This moment in particular really stuck with me because it showed how much our time together has meant to her.”
Both Allen and Eckard have realized through the years of volunteering that consistency is essential to forming genuine relationships with residents. Whether playing games, making crafts or simply having a conversation with residents, the volunteers regularly showing up allows connections to grow deeper.
“Showing up consistently is important, and with that, we are able to form connections that are way beyond surface level,” Eckard said.
As Caring Companions continues to expand its outreach on campus and in the Oxford community, its leaders hope to continue building meaningful relationships with the assisted living community.
“My hopes for the future of Caring Companions is that it continues to grow, reaching enough volunteers to be able to reach more nursing homes in the Oxford community,” Eckard
