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Sayville High School senior Katie Zender wishes she could have had the chance to take her grandmother to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot.
Today, less than two months after the death of her maternal grandmother Muriel Sendlein, Katie will do the next best thing.
At about 9 a.m. in her 2012 Honda CRV, Katie will pick up a “sweet and kind” Sayville woman in her late 70s and drive her to a 10 a.m. COVID-19 vaccination appointment at Walgreens in Westhampton. It was all arranged by Katie.
“It kind of feels like I’m helping out my grandma,” said Katie, 17, who is part of a group of Sayville High School students helping local seniors land vaccine appointments. “It’s hard for them to navigate the internet — and it’s difficult as it is to find an available appointment for the vaccine.”
The coronavirus pandemic has been all too personal for Katie. Last March, she lost her paternal grandfather Ulrich to the virus. And her father Mark, a physician’s assistant at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson, has delivered care to COVID-19 patients for the last year.
“I want to do anything I can to help other people avoid the personal loss that I had,” said Katie, who expects to study business management this fall at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. “And I want to lessen the burden on healthcare workers.”
Katie Zender with her grandmother Muriel Sendlein and two brothers, Matt and Chris. (Facebook / Mark Zender)
It was veteran English teacher Douglas Shaw who last week developed the idea to have the teens help the seniors. He recruited the residents who needed assistance, as well as the students who wanted to help.
“We put the offer out on Facebook just about a week ago when one of my retired teacher friends, Kim Kamensky, suggested that many of the 65-plus vaccine eligible members of our community might not have the technological skills needed to secure an appointment,” Shaw said. “I know I struggled to make my appointments, and I use technology every day.”
Shaw now has an army of 10 students ready and willing to help older people in the area secure vaccine appointments.
“The way that the system was rolled out presented challenges to some people, but technologically savvy students are uniquely suited to meet those challenges,” Shaw said. “The opportunities for young people to connect to their community through meaningful service have really been limited in the past year.
“This was a good way to remind young people that they can still play a positive role in their communities,” Shaw added.
Katie agreed, adding: “I’m going to try to recruit as many people as I can to help get vaccine appointments for older people.”
