Picture this: you have just filled out your match application to join Perfect Pair. You shared some of your favorite hobbies, a bit of your background, career interests, and personal values. And now you’re wondering who your match will be and how the matching team at your chapter will find your pair.
Wonder no more! This is your exclusive look into how Perfect Pair matches our college students with older adults in assisted living. Each chapter has a Vice President of Matching and Matching Committee who reads every single application we receive. Yep, every application is read by a real person. There’s no algorithm here. As the VP of Matching reads applications, they note all of the details included - hobbies, personal and professional interests, and backgrounds - and find commonalities between potential pairs. Generally, we like to ensure our matches have at least three things in common to start their friendship. Take Joanne and Priya, for example.
Joanne and Priya are a pair at our University of Michigan chapter. They were originally matched because they have both lived in Michigan for some time, are interested in the healthcare/wellness industry - Joanne is a registered dietician and Priya is on the pre-medical track - and have a shared love of dance. Priya loves traditional Indian dance and Joanne is a Polish dancer. These three things served as the foundation for their friendship, but our hope for all of our pairs is that their relationship can grow beyond these originally shared interests.
Once the VP Matching has identified a good pair, we let them know that they have been matched! This is super exciting for both our students and residents, and our pairs can not wait to have their first meeting. Once the pair has been notified of their match they will schedule a weekly meeting time and receive their Welcome Bag. These bags are put together by the Match Onboarding Chair, and include a copy of our activity catalog, some information about their match, and their favorite dessert from a local bakery (as indicated on the match application). Now that the new pair has their welcome bag and has set a meeting time, they are ready for their first meeting!
As our pairs start meeting, they are free to spend their hour together however they like, but we do have a few recommendations and special activities for the first meetings! Our activity catalog has a wide range of activities to complete together, from book club (one of our most popular activities) and painting to learning a new language or doing virtual museum tours together. Many of the connection activities are oriented toward getting to know your pair better, in a deeper and more significant way - a great option for a first meeting. We also recommend going through the activity catalog together with your pair and identifying future activities you’d like to complete together! All supplies are provided by Perfect Pair, free of charge to our pairs, so you can reconnect with hobbies you’ve fallen away from, or discover a new interest alongside your pair.
There you have it, an insider look into our match process and the beginnings of our newly matched pairs. All of our applications are read by real people, matches are made based on common interests, and we supply a plethora of activities for our pairs to connect in new engaging ways.
If you are a senior in assisted living or a college student looking to be matched, click here to get connected to your local chapter.
If you are interested in starting a Perfect Pair chapter at your local college or university, click here to get in touch with our Director of Recruitment.
