Using Mahjong to uplift seniors.
Loneliness has been deemed the “new smoking” for seniors, as it carries health risks as dangerous as 15 cigarettes per day. At the same time, evidenced by the significantly increased numbers of anti-Asian hate crimes being perpetrated each day, prejudice against Asian culture has grown more visible. These parallel issues damage the inherent empathy, connection, and richness of the shared human experience we are defined by.
So…
The Tiles for Hope Initiative uses Mahjong, a game which roots itself in skill, memory, and cultural tradition, to be a uniquely powerful tool to address both challenges. By bringing students and seniors together, we aim to create moments of true joy, mental stimulation, and belonging for seniors, while also increasing cultural appreciation and decreasing bias among the younger generation. Our mission is to build hope through bridging divides in connection and combating loneliness.
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Explore Our Initiatives
Volunteering
We organize and lead weekly Mahjong groups at local retirement homes and senior centers to bridge intergenerational gaps.
In these groups, we play Mahjong with them, share stories from Chinese culture, connect with them through weekly activities, and, most importantly, inherit from them essential pieces of wisdom.
Want to initiate your own volunteer group? Create a chapter here!
Awareness campaign
In addition to volunteering, we aim to raise awareness and foster empathy for the wisdom of seniors through our flagship advocacy initiatives: Senior Spotlights and Gray Matters.
1. Senior Spotlights: Each Senior Spotlight is a short, film-style portrait giving insight to the remarkable life story of a senior from our Mahjong groups. These intimate vignettes are able to show the journeys, challenges, and wisdom that have shaped each seniors’ worldview, allowing us to inherit a small portion of this wisdom. Whether they be artists, immigrants, teachers, or travellers, each senior has a unique lesson that allows us to connect generations and cultures.
Watch our featured story: Sonia’s Journey.
2. Gray Matters: This is our platform for essays, reflections, and reports on the social issues affecting seniors, from the gap in digital literacy to ageism. The name alludes to the “gray matter” of the brain (which symbolizes thought, intellect, and empathy) as well as the idea that gray matters as a subject of conversation and care. We hope that this student-led advocacy can spark awareness and challenge assumptions about aging.
Want to create your own advocacy initiative? Many students choose to use social media campaigns or advocacy
Civic engagement
Our last category of initiatives is our civic engagement track. In this part of our mission, we focus on advocating for seniors’ rights and engaging the general public in doing so; for example, some students in this track have chosen to start grassroots lobbying campaigns against unjust laws affecting seniors.
To learn more, visit our civic engagement page.
Tiles For Hope 