Thank you.

Good afternoon, honourable members. Greetings to all of you.

First of all, it's an absolute honour to be here, and I appreciate all of your ongoing efforts and work for people all across Canada and beyond.

My name is Shiven Vinod Khera, and I am representing the Age-Link Society. I am a former student at the University of British Columbia Okanagan. I completed my graduation just last year, in 2022. I am a member of Age-Link's board of directors and have the honour to be the board treasurer.

The Age-Link Society is a registered non-profit organization operating in the Okanagan in British Columbia. Here's a fun fact: The Age-Link Society was started as a student club at UBCO in 2016, and it was later registered as a non-profit organization in 2021.

When I was elected vice-president of the students union in 2021, I used to work very closely with the Age-Link student club.

What does the Age-Link Society do? We promote intergenerational social connections and friendships in our community through organizing social events such as picnics, galas, board game events, trivia nights and coffee socials. Our main membership is made up of students and seniors. Our goal is simple. We create events and invite both seniors and students, so we can create a well-bonded community together.

Over the years, we have successfully reached more than 200 seniors and more than 1,000-plus students in our community. Seniors volunteer their time to mentor, inspire, guide and support students and share their wisdom and time with the students. On the other hand, students share their skills, time, stories, culture and experience with the seniors. Both seniors and students have reported that Age-Link provides them the opportunity to enrich their social connections, improves their mental well-being, gives them joy and purpose and broadens their life perspectives.

As financial times become harder with the cost of living and individuals debate whether to attend our event or take an extra shift at work, we have received more and more regrets from members who would have otherwise wished to participate in our activities or volunteer. Economic hardship has affected seniors and students alike. I know about two amazing student leaders who were heavily involved in the organization as volunteers last year but who have not yet attended any of the more than seven events we have organized this year because they're busy working and prioritizing their financial stability—and justifiably so.

Students are picking up more and more jobs, given rising rent and the cost of living expenses. This means that some seniors have missed the opportunity to connect and volunteer with these students and, for those who are already connected, the students might have turned down invitations to continue socializing and maintaining their intergenerational friendships.

For seniors, our interactions are very recreational, but, anecdotally speaking, we know one senior who has gone back into the workforce and is seeking freelance consulting, given the rising costs that he and his wife are facing.

Volunteering is important and critical to the operations and thriving of organizations like the Age-Link Society. The Age-Link Society has been able to make events barrier-free by having all our events as free admission. This has been helpful; however, volunteers are human beings with needs and, once faced with economic hardship at the individual level, they will prioritize activities that address that need over our barrier-free events, which they would have otherwise wished to attend.

We appreciate all the work all of you are doing and the programs and schemes you are bringing forth to tackle affordability, and we're hopeful that you will shed light on some of the most vulnerable populations—students and seniors—in your plans as well.

Thank you.