Priya came to Stanford for grad school. She stayed for Mrs. Chen.

I moved to Palo Alto for graduate school and felt disconnected from the community. Everyone seemed to be heads-down in their work. I wanted to do something meaningful outside the lab.

A flyer for VoGro caught my eye at the library. I signed up, completed the background check, and within a week I was matched with Mrs. Chen in Barron Park. She needed help with weekly grocery shopping and prescription pickups.

What I didn't expect was how much I'd get out of it. Mrs. Chen tells me stories about Palo Alto in the 1970s, teaches me recipes from her hometown in Taiwan, and always insists I take home leftover soup. She's become like a grandmother to me.

I now volunteer about six hours a week, split between two seniors. It's the highlight of my week. VoGro gave me what I was missing — a real connection to the place I live.