Teens2Seniors after an event. Pictured from left to right: Luc Gutmann's grandmother GiGi, Massimo Deneroff, Lexie Low, Ariana Berjis and Luc Gutmann. Photo: Luc Gutmann
DANVILLE, Calif. - To a group of East Bay teens, aging is just another form of living. That's why spending up to three hours a week with residents at Sunrise Senior Living in Danville has grown into something more than just playing games.
It's bloomed into building connections between young people and seniors.
Nonprofit Teens2Seniors developed from founder Luc Gutmann’s desire to see the senior residents enjoy activities and have youthful energy brought back into their lives.
Gutmann said that sharing this time with them, especially with his grandmother GiGi, has made him more outgoing and changed the way he’s seen the world.
"It's impacted me on the way I look at everyday life, honestly," he said. "Being able to see these people who may not have, like, the same day that I have. It's different… as they get old."
Teens and seniors connecting
The backstory:
The Teens2Seniors, or T2S, community was created in 2025 when Gutmann was grappling with his own grandmother GiGi's journey with dementia and being placed in assisted living.
He wanted to ensure that she was not only cared for, but also enjoying her time and staying connected with him and the younger generation.
He collaborated with the activities' coordinator at Sunrise Senior Living to organize the monthly meetings. Thus, T2S was born.
"My grandma moved up here because my grandfather passed away. And so she moved into Sunrise Senior Living… I see the residents and would see them often just sitting, not really doing anything," Gutmann explained. "I wanted to be able to honestly, like provide games, maybe have something fun and to bring that life back into them."
With this mission in mind, other teenagers were inspired by the sentiment of spending time with the residents.
"Hearing their stories is really inspiring," said fundraising director Ariana Berjis. "I just think that you can tell when you come, like they really do enjoy us being here, and you can tell that they have a good time."
Finance director and co-founder, Massimo Deneroff, got involved because his own grandma’s dementia and grandparents residing in senior living inspired him to do something meaningful for them.
"They live far away. So to be able to come makes me think of them. And when I go visit them, like I'm definitely gonna do the same thing," he said.
His sister, Valentina Deneroff, serves as the activity director and enjoys teaching residents dance routines.
For marketing director Lexie Low, she has a close relationship with her grandfather, and she’s learned a lot from hearing his stories. When the opportunity presented itself to get involved with T2S, she was interested.
"I find a lot of joy in talking to them because I think they have a lot more knowledge and experiences than I do," Low said. "And like them, sharing their stories is super fun."
Low also noted that spending time with these residents has shifted her outlook to not wanting to speed past growing up.
"I just feel like I want to take things a lot more slow," she said. "I appreciate life and just want to enjoy my journey of how I get to places instead of just the overall end goal."
Teens2Seniors meeting at Sunrise Senior Living in Danville. Volunteers and residents played memory card games. Photo: Teens2Seniors1 Instagram
Memories in the making
What we know:
Every Sunday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. teenagers gather at Sunrise Senior Living to spend time with senior residents. These meetings include games, music or the most recent activity of bowling.
"Everybody was having a good time," said Gutmann. "And when we were like, ‘should we end it, play a different game?’ They're like, ‘no, can we do another round?’"
The volunteers noticed that with this game the residents wanted to get up and participate.
"It's a really positive environment where it's like sometimes people are nervous to go," Berjis said. "But when they go, it's like everyone's supporting. So I think it's just really fun to see everyone connect and interact together."
This supportive energy extends to other games like memory cards.
"It's a chance for everyone to kind of collaborate but also like have fun and like speak their mind…" Low explained. "It's very, like, raw and genuine and like even if people mess up it's not embarrassing… we're all there just having fun."
But even with all of this fun, a competitive nature still resides among the residents that can make it challenging for the volunteers.
"There comes with a little bit of like heat there, but I feel like we all do a pretty good job together, like overcoming it and trying to move past that and just remember that, like it's just a game," said Bergis.
The aspiration of the organization is for it to continue to grow into several homes with more teenagers joining. Gutmann hopes to have others host an event in their local area, and in the future, take it to a national level.
"We're already seeing a strong impact in our community and I think it's just the beginning," he said.
Calling all teenagers!
What you can do:
The volunteers encourage other teenagers to get involved in their mission aimed at helping other people and uplifting the residents’ moods.
If students need volunteer opportunities for service hours or want to make a meaningful difference in their community, look no further than T2S.
"It's all worth it in the end. Being able to see change somebody's day in a positive is just a super cool thing," Gutmann said.
"It's just like special… I think here you can actually like you're able to see it face to face, like how much of a difference that you're making in someone's day," Berjis agreed.
For more information about volunteering, check out their website.
The Source: Interview with founder and executive director Luc Gutmann, co-founder and finance director Massimo Deneroff, marketing director Lexie Low, fundraising director Ariana Bergis and Teens2Seniors website.