A nonprofit for seniors · Southern California
Home isn't a place.
It's a feeling.
Amiva helps seniors keep it alive.
Cultural connection and belonging for seniors.
How we match
Paired to feel like home
Wherever we can, an Amiva volunteer shares a senior's language or heritage — so a visit opens with a greeting that needs no translating. From there, it's the small things that carry it: a recipe from home, a song from childhood, a phrase that hasn't been spoken aloud in years. Not just a visitor. Someone who already understands.
That's the difference between a visit — and being seen.
Familiar faces
A volunteer who shows up and keeps coming back.
Gatherings that remember
Built around their food, music, and language.
Still here, still mine
Small moments that say your story still matters.
For students
Service hours that turn into something real
Amiva visits count toward required service hours — and because a parent, guardian, or care home staff member is typically present, it's an easy first step into volunteering for students and families alike.
Flexible & flexible again
Ongoing or one-time visits — fits around a school schedule and hour deadlines.
Rarely alone
A parent, guardian, or care home staff member is usually present or nearby during visits.
Bring what you already know
Bilingual and heritage-language students are especially needed for our matching model.
NHS, Key Club, or Interact advisor? Email amivaseniors@gmail.com — we're happy to visit a meeting.
For college students
Your major, meet someone's living room
A lot of what Amiva does already looks a lot like your coursework — you just get to do it with a real person on the other end of the couch. Here's what a few majors turn into.
Write the story of a lifetime
Sit with a senior over a few visits and help turn their memories into a keepsake their family keeps for good — Amiva's signature life-story project.
→ a real byline, a real subject, a real deadlineFinally, a conversation partner
Practice with someone who dreams in the language you're studying. We match by heritage and tongue, so the accent, the slang, and the stories are all the real thing.
→ speaking hours that actually feel like homeSee isolation up close
Loneliness is a public-health problem, and you'll meet it where it lives. Great grounding for anyone headed into community health, outreach, or policy.
→ fieldwork you can point to in an interviewTextbook, meet real people
Everything you're reading about aging, memory, and dignity — from the person's own chair. We train you first, so you show up prepared, not guessing.
→ the hours your program keeps asking forOral history, first-hand
Immigration, work, war, home — recorded from someone who lived it, in their words and at their pace. Primary sources don't get more primary than this.
→ a recorded history no archive has yetCapture a whole life
Build the playlist of someone's youth, sketch a portrait, or film a short with their blessing. Small creative projects that mean everything to a family.
→ a portfolio piece with a heartbeatDon't see your major?
Psych, social work, education, nursing, business, art — they all fit. Amiva is companionship, not care, so no clinical experience is ever needed. Bring the skills you have; we'll help you use them.
Clubs, chapters & orgs
Bring the whole group
Some of the best visits aren't solo. Whole clubs, teams, and Greek chapters can take on a senior — or a whole care home — as a semester-long thing.
Philanthropy with a face
Make Amiva your chapter's cause for the semester — group visits, a shared care-home partnership, and service hours the whole roster can count.
→ a philanthropy that isn't just a checkSew a memory into something soft
Take a senior's old clothes — a coat, a dress, a favorite shirt — and stitch them into a keepsake blanket or pillow the family can hold onto.
→ a heirloom made from a life already livedWhatever your thing is, share it
Chess, choir, cooking, gardening, gaming — a shared activity is the easiest way into a first visit. Tell us what your group loves and we'll find the fit.
→ a standing event your members look forward toProfessor, advisor, or chapter president? Email amivaseniors@gmail.com — we're happy to visit a class or meeting and set up service-learning hours.
Ready to start?
Whatever you're studying, there's a senior who'd love the company
Amiva is companionship, not care — so no clinical experience is ever needed. Bring the skills you have; we'll train you first so you show up prepared, not guessing.
Get involved
Reach us.
We're just getting started. Tell us how you'd like to be part of it.
Volunteer · Senior · Family · Care home partner
Or email amivaseniors@gmail.com
For volunteers
This isn't one-way
Every Amiva volunteer walks away with something real, too.
A language you don't get to speak enough
Matched by culture and language, so a visit often means hearing a recipe, a song, or a dialect you grew up with.
Real skills before your first visit
You're trained in how to talk with someone living with memory loss, and how to show up for an older adult with confidence.
Hours that count
Verified service hours and a reference from a screened, trained program — the kind that stands out on an application.
Become a volunteer
Ready to visit?
Apply below. Every Amiva volunteer is trained before meeting a senior — plus background-checked, TB-cleared, and reference-checked, so seniors and families can trust who's at the door.
Applying is the first step — placement follows screening and training.
Form not loading? Open the application in a new tab.
Through a network of driven volunteers, Amiva brings conversation and culture to seniors.